PERSONAL MANAGEMENT
This Merit Badge
is Required to earn the Eagle Scout Rank
These were the REQUIREMENTS before the REVISIONS
which were made on January 1, 2004.
To see the current requirements
Click Here
- Do the following:
- Lead a discussion with your family to identify one family
financial goal that must be saved for out of family income.
Choose a goal that has strong personal interest for both
you and your family (a family trip or vacation, a new VCR,
or a family car, for instance).
- Discuss the goal in detail (where to go on vacation,
for example, or what kind of car to buy), the cost of the
goal, and when you want to reach the goal.
- Discuss how your family could accumulate funds to reach
this goal, how the goal will affect the rest of the family
budget, and how you could help your family achieve the goal.
- Do the following:
- Prepare a personal budget or spending plan for three
months, including a "pay yourself first" savings plan. Keep
track of everything you buy. Balance all income with expenses
and savings at the end of each month.
- Share your three month budget with your merit badge
counselor. Explain how you determined discretionary income
(income not spent to meet fixed expenses), how much you
saved, and what you spent money on. Did you spend more or
less than you budgeted?
- Do ONE of the following:
- Identify a personal financial goal and make a plan to
achieve that goal.
- Write down the goal you want to achieve. (This may
be a small, short term goal such as buying clothes,
or it may be a major, long-term goal such as saving
for college.)
- Develop a financial plan to accomplish the goal.
Determine how much the goal will cost, how much time
you have to reach the goal, how you will earn money
to pay for the goal, and what adjustments you could
make if you cannot reach the goal in the desired time
with the income you can earn.
- Discuss your plan with your counselor.
OR:
- Determine a spending/savings plan for living on your
own.
- Choose a realistic job based on your age, skills,
education, and experience (working at a fast-food restaurant,
movie theater, or college library, for example). Determine
how much you would probably make per hour and how many
hours you would work each week. Determine your spendable
income (after taxes and other deductions are taken out)
for a month.
- Make a list of all basic monthly living expenses:
rent, food, transportation, clothing, telephone, etc.
Ask family or friends, or call sources to help you determine
costs.
- Compare projected income with projected expenses.
Would you have enough income to live on? Would any be
left over for fun? For savings?
- If expenses exceed income, determine what options
you would have for bringing the two into balance. Could
you reduce or eliminate expenses? Work more hours a
week? Get a higher-paying job?
- Discuss you final plan with your counselor.
- Do the following:
- Choose an item you would like to buy. Be specific. (For
example, identify the brand name of a pair of shoes you
want, or the title of a CD.)
- Comparison shop for the item. Find out where you can
buy the item for the best price. Call around; study ads.
Look for a sale or a discount coupon.
- Consider alternatives. Could you buy the item used?
Should you wait for a sale? (d) Discuss your shopping strategy
with your counselor.
- Do ONE of the following:
- Visit a bank. Ask a bank representative to explain checking
accounts, savings accounts, loans, and automated teller
machines (ATMs). Explain to your counselor the difference
between a checking account and a savings account. Discuss
with your counselor the minimum requirements to open and
maintain the accounts or to take out a loan.
OR:
- Visit another type of financial institution, such as
a stock brokerage firm or an insurance company. Ask a representative
what the firm does and how it works with consumers. Explain
to your counselor the differences in services offered by
the following types of financial professionals: financial
planner, stockbroker, insurance agent, accountant, tax preparer,
banker, estate planning attorney.
- Do the following:
- Explain the difference between saving for a goal and
investing for a goal.
- Explain the two basic methods of investing: loaned and
owned.
- Explain the concepts of simple and compound interest
and how compound interest can be used to increase your savings
and investments more rapidly.
- Explain the concepts of yield, profit, and total return,
and how they are used to evaluate investment performance.
- Explain the basic features of the following types of
investments, including risks and rewards and whether they
involve lending or owning: bank savings accounts, certificates
of deposit, U.S. Savings Bonds, shares of stock, shares
in a mutual fund, real estate.
- Do the following:
- Explain what a loan is, what interest is, and how the
"annual percentage rate" measures the true cost of a loan.
- Choose something you want to buy or do, but currently
cannot afford. Set up an imaginary loan so you can "achieve"
that goal. Identify the "principal" amount, interest rate,
and repayment schedule. Determine the total cost of the
loan (principal plus interest). Determine how it would affect
your total cost if you paid back the same amount every two
weeks, instead of once a month.
- Explain the differences between a charge card, a debit
card, and a credit card.
- Identify the factors that affect the costs of credit.
Tell which factors can be controlled.
- Explain credit reports and how personal responsibility
can affect your credit record.
- Describe ways to reduce or eliminate debt.
- Do the following:
- Explain the five ways to manage risk.
- Explain the six basic types of insurance and why someday
you might need one or more of them.
- Define the two major types of life insurance (term and
permanent) and compare their advantages and disadvantages.
- Do the following:
- Identify a job or career that interests you and do basic
research about it at your library or through other information
sources. Make a presentation to your troop or counselor
about the job or career. Your report should include:
- An explanation of your interest in the job or career
(how you learned of it, what about it that interests
you, what its job prospects are, and how you think the
job or career will change in the future)
- Any qualifications required (education, skills,
experiences) and how you might become qualified for
the job
- The job's functions and responsibilities (the duties
of the job or career)
- The organizations, trade associations, professional
associations, governmental regulations, or licenses
involved in the career field
- Do ONE of the following:
- Prepare a personal resume for the job.
OR:
- Interview someone in the job or career field and
prepare a summary of the interview.
- Discuss with your counselor your personal goals and
ambitions in life. Relate these to your intellectual, physical,
spiritual, and moral development. How has Scouting helped
you in accomplishing your goals and ambitions? Share your
thoughts with your family.
BSA Advancement ID#: 11
Pamphlet Revision Date: 1997
Requirements last revised in 1998
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