Financial Literacy: Net Worth = Assets - Liabilities

This assignment teaches students about assets, liabilities, and net worth (equity). It is a great way to get your high school students interested in personal financial literacy and building wealth.

3 case studies are included with calculations to complete and questions to respond to.

Each person has some assets and some liabilities. Students must add each of these categories up and find the difference to see how much net worth each person has. Then they need to think about what changes each person could make to their financial habits. Perhaps one person has too much debt or someone else isn't investing much even with a high income.

Students can start to see how high income does not always lead to high net worth if the person spends more than they make and has debt. On the other hand, someone with a lower income can have a high net worth if they live a frugal lifestyle and save money in investments or property equity. Just because someone "looks" rich, doesn't mean that they are!

Grades to Use WIth:

The actual math in this assignment is quite simple: adding and subtracting numbers to the hundred thousands. Students could do the work by hand or with a calculator. Because of this, this assignment is accessible to students in grades 7-12 in regular math classes, adult education students, and high school special education students.

How to Use:

Introduce the vocabulary: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity on the first page and fill in the blanks together. You could do one of the case studies together as a class and assign the other two for students to complete on their own.

Answer key included.

If you enjoy this product, check out some of the other personal finance lessons in my store: Grace Under Pressure.

6 page PDF:

Title Page

Introduction Page

3 Case Studies

Answer Key