F1.3 Identify and describe various factors that may help or interfere with reaching financial goals.
Skill: Identifying and Describing Various Factors That Can Help or Hinder the Achievement of Financial Goals
There are many factors that can influence the achievement of financial goals, some of which can help achieve financial goals while others can hinder them.
An important skill in achieving financial goals is the ability to anticipate obstacles before they become insurmountable. While it is impossible to predict everything, being aware of factors that could impede the achievement of financial goals can allow for earlier intervention and better management of the unexpected.
Some of these factors could be, for example:
- A large, unexpected but unavoidable expense (for example, a major repair to a primary means of transportation).
- A change in the cost associated with an expense (for example, an increase in the exchange rate for the currency of the destination country of a trip, or an increase in the fee for a monthly service).
- A loss of employment or a change in salary (for example, a reduction in work with an employer resulting in fewer hours of work available to employees).
- Priority to be given to basic family needs (for example, no family outings for the next few months to allow for the necessary purchase of a new vehicle).
- Unexpected expenses related to a health condition (for example, having to travel outside the area to see a medical specialist or to visit a sick family member).
Spending and saving are closely connected and this connection can be used to introduce the student to various ways of ensuring that a financial goal is achieved through anticipating obstacles and planning to overcome them.
Factors that may help reach a financial goal of some sort might include:
- Receiving money as a gift which could be put in bank to save towards the goal.
- Avoiding becoming influenced by an advertisement for an item that a celebrity endorses, or adjusting the goal attainment plan to allow for such an expenditure.
- Getting used to talking about financial goals so that students don't submit to peer pressure and make purchases that are counterproductive to achieving the goal.
- Using a student bank account to earn interest and reach financial goals faster.
- Finding an additional income to increase savings and compensate for possible unforeseen events.
- A reduction in expenses to make the financial goal more attainable.
- Being flexible and realistic about the size and timing of the financial goal.
Some factors can have a much greater impact on the achievement of financial goals. Systemic oppression, for example, can result in an entire group of individuals not having equal opportunities to obtain an education or earn a salary. This oppression, also known as discrimination, reduces or prevents access to certain opportunities based on gender, race, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other characteristic that is used to categorize individuals. This is a difficult topic to discuss, but an important one to address, as awareness of systemic oppression is a first step toward systemic changes.
Knowledge: Financial Plan
A financial plan is a written plan that identifies financial goals and outlines specific actions needed to achieve them.
Source: The Ontario Curriculum. Mathematics, Grades 1-8 Ontario Ministry of Education, 2020.
Knowledge: Financial Goal
A financial goal is an objective that a person sets that affects how they spend and save money. Objectives can be short term, such as buying a pair of sneakers, or long term, such as attending university.
Source: The Ontario Curriculum. Mathematics, Grades 1-8 Ontario Ministry of Education, 2020.