La Vida Loca Workbook of Personal Economics

This game we call “life” can hit people unaware or we can prepare our students to move confidently toward the twists and turns in their future! In this workbook, written with high school-aged students in mind, we offer a practical way to help students gain confidence in personal economics. As students move through 16-topics they will play a “game of Life”; given a spouse, rolling a die to identify number of children, drawing cards to determine career, housing, and exploring how unexpected events can impact anyone’s personal economic experience and economic outlook!

The workbook is written from a Biblical perspective and designed to be used both independently at home and in a group gathering (ideally once a week) where students can report their findings and enjoy an atmosphere of gentle competition as they work through the action cards and see how their “life” works out!

Each chapter is equated to one year of life. Weekly assignments include reading the Inspiration (a newspaper article, blog post, or chapter from a book), then completing the lessons for the week. Students will be asked each class to make decisions about housing, and careers, and complete a short “Action Card” research report on a relevant topic they draw. Students complete a weekly “Annual Financial Statement” where they budget, track income and expenses, and explore the impact of savings and debt on their phantastic life. Students will gain experience using a ledger, graphing, and calculating compound interest.

Weekly topics explore the economic impact of the following topics: Career Choice, Housing, Marriage, Food, Budgeting, Tithing, Transportation, Savings, Hygiene, Credit/Debt, Discretionary Spending, Money Etiquette, Borrowing/Lending/Sharing, Time Management, Civic Engagement, and Friends/Relationships.

Student will need access to a die to roll.

IF YOU ARE TEACHING THIS AS PART OF A CLASS WITH MORE THAN 5 STUDENTS, YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE THE LA VIDA LOCA EXPANSION PACK. The expansion pack is a digital download that will give you Action Cards for an additional 6 students. The expansion pack can be found at this listing: https://etsy.me/3RfdNS4

Link to video overview: https://youtu.be/wW69ygSrRr8

REVIEWS:

“I enjoyed La Vida Loca for a few reasons. It is simple and well laid out, it makes you personally think about finances and how you want to incorporate them in your life, and it’s very interactive.

Doing the curriculum with a group was especially helpful. The discussion gives you the opportunity to bounce around opinions and different views on money. Which helps you realize why certain people handle money one way and others another.

In all it’s a God-honoring finance course that really helps you think about finances and their implications.” Rynn R., 16-year-old student



*This workbook is used in the MasterPoint Climb 3 Curriculum Plan*