In your groups, you will need to find three different properties: one detached house, one condo, and one townhouse. All of these properties are ones you are BUYING, not renting. Please keep them within the Lower Mainland.
Be realistic with your income. Consider the Career Cruising project we did earlier this year – take your incomes from the career you chose in this assignment and add them together to get your total income. Put this income in a Mortgage Calculator to determine what kind of mortgage and property you can afford as a group.
A short video will be shown in class as an example of what we will be looking for in your assignment.
Consider some of the elements we have discussed in class:
Price of the home and mortgage payments.
Square footage.
Location.
Photos of the home’s interior (min. 4-5).
Age of the home.
Your presentation should give a brief overview of all properties and be narrated equally by all members of your group, whatever format you decide upon.
More details will arise in class and students will be responsible for partaking in the discussion towards elements being assessed in this assignment.
Please finish looking up your rented basement suite, condo, and townhouse. Remember to keep them in the same general neighbourhood, because that will be a big part of our discussion on Monday.
Since we have some background now regarding credits, budgeting, and loans (lines of credit), we are going to see if we can learn about how this applies to motor vehicles.
You will be split into two groups and assigned a position: Finance or Lease. These are two different ways people sometimes choose to have use of a car.
You will have one day (Wednesday) to prepare your position. Keep in mind some of the following expectations:
1. Everyone in your group MUST speak at some point during the debate.
2. Everyone must participate in the preparation.
3. Since we are new to this subject, you will likely run into some terms and concepts you don’t know. When you run into these, write them down – each group is expected to have a list of questions asking about different things they have identified in the process of preparing your argument. Things like Warranty or Insurance might be good ideas to write down as questions.
4. You need to argue why your method is the better choice.
5. Do not just look up one car and base your answer of that. Choose three different types, for example: a simple, base level car; a larger vehicle like a truck or SUV; and/or a more luxury brand vs. a universal brand and see how things change for your position.
I have included three videos here that briefly explain both Financing and Leasing, as well as a comparison of the two. You need to all watch ALL THREE before you start your own research. Some of these videos are from the UK and USA, but overall, the general rules are the same.
Financing?
Leasing?
Which One, Which One?
As previously mentioned, you will have only Wednesday to prepare for this. The Debate will occur at the beginning of class on Thursday, so make sure you are ready!
Here is how the STRUCTURE of the Debate will work:
First Side: Opening Statement (1 minute). Second Side: Opening Statement. (1 minute). First Side: Point #1 (1 minute). Second Side: Rebuttal (1 minute). (A rebuttal means they are only arguing the one point presented by Side #1). Free For All (3 minutes): Anyone can argue, it just has to be one at a time. Second Side: Point #1. (1 minute). First Side: Rebuttal. (1 minute) Free For All (3 minutes).
Repeat process for Points 2, 3, etc. First Side: Closing Statement (1 minute). Second Side: Closing Statement (1 minute).
Here are the general RULES about the Debate:
The speaker must stand in order to speak. They must remain standing the entire time.
Speakers must use up all of their time. If you are given one minute, you must use the WHOLE one minute meaning you cannot go over, or be under. If you stop, the timer will be paused. If you go over, you will be cut off.
Unless it is during a Free For All round, the person speaking cannot be interrupted.
Everyone in your group needs to have a turn to speak.
During the Free For All round, the first person to speak is the person who stands up first. If it is a tie, the teacher will choose. You cannot stand up or crouch to speak next, you must be seated unless you are the speaker.
Remember: You cannot argue against another side if you don’t know their side. 😉
Since we’re all now experts in understanding credit lingo, we’re going to apply it to credit cards. Your assignment will be to make a chart in whichever program you like, as long as it will work on any type of computer operating system (i.e. I can open it on a school computer). The chart should follow the example in the assignment outline, here: Credit Card Comparison Assignment .
This assignment will be due Tuesday, 12 April 2016 at 11:45am before you leave for lunch. You have lots of time, so I am excited to see how detailed and flashy they are! Remember: don’t worry about getting the exact number of sentences, it is more a general idea for you to understand the general length and general quality I am expecting in your responses. I am looking for a solid reflection, and well thought-out reasoning, not “I picked this one because it seemed neat.” WHY is it neat? How is it more so than others? Convince me!
Now that we’ve got a bit of an idea about banks and credit unions, we’re going to talk about different products these institutions offer. Some of these things are: chequing accounts, savings accounts, interest, GICs. These can benefit you, but if you don’t stay on top of things they can be problematic.
After what will surely be our exhilarating discussion/lesson on these terms and others… =D
PART I:
Here is a chart comparing and contrasting Banks and Credit Unions. Go through this as a group and be ready to discuss! A Closer Look at Banks and Credit Unions We will go through it together as a class. What do you notice?
PART II
The list below is a mix of banks and credit unions. Identify whether or not each is a bank or a credit union. Don’t just read the name and make assumptions – go to their websites and double-check!
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Toronto Dominion (TD) Scotiabank Vancity Westminster Savings Bank of Montreal (BMO) Tangerine Capital One Canadian Bank of Imperial Commerce (CIBC) Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)
Can you name any other local banks or credit unions? PART III
Answer and expand upon the following questions in a thoughtful paragraph. I statements are not just fine, they are welcome! This is due by 11:55am (the end of class) by email to Ms. Hopkin.
What are the pros and cons of a credit union vs. a bank?
Which one do you think you would prefer?
Are there certain things one might be better for, and vice versa? What kinds of things are these, and why?
Be prepared to discuss the content of your paragraphs as a group. You will be receiving a mark out of five on your contributions to the discussion on these topics today.
Find a dream item you really, really want. Attach a link and include the item’s price.
Find out how much the dream item costs with the 12% tax added.
Determine how many hours it will take you to earn the dream item on a minimum wage of $10.45 an hour.
Look at your bank’s website. Is there a certain type of Savings Account that will help you save this amount faster?
Is there an item, service, or product (e.g. debit/credit card) offered by the bank that could help you save faster? (Be general with this one – we’ll be learning about these things in detail soon!).
Answer all of these in a document (or on paper). Was due by the end of class; due date extended to this evening, Friday, 1 April 2016 at 6pm.
Remember: the point of this assignment is for you to find out how much sooner you can afford this dream item, so make sure at the end of your assignment, you write how many hours less it will take you with these Savings Accounts or other services.
