Personal Management
The Personal Magagement merit badge requirements were revised effective
January 1, 1998.
Personal Management is a required merit badge for the Eagle Scout
rank.
- 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?
- 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.
Requirements: