Credit Card Minimum

One of my favorite projects so far in Financial Algebra has been on Credit Cards. I had found a Personal Finance Project Resource Book that was created through the Connecticut State Department of Education. The project is on "Paying the Minimum" and essentially how long it will take to pay off a credit card if you are only to pay the minimum amount. I stress with the Students that this is IF you do not charge anything else onto the card (which most people do not do). I felt it was pretty eye-opening to them. I modified a few things from the original project and expected this from the students. I will probably change a few things for the next time around (up the minimum payment) - I felt a little rushed putting it together with midterms right around the corner. I also was finding that it was really important to be able to provide an example.

Below are some pictures of a few of the projects that were turned in. I love that students are getting experience with Sheets and learning how to use it to their advantage. This is the second project they have had in which they used Sheets and had to link it to the project with a QR code!!

      

Life isn't work

Lately, my husband has been hassling me a bit because whenever I'm home (after we put our daughter to bed), I'm always working. With 2 new classes, prepping a course for the team, and department chair duties, there never seems to be enough time during my work day to get things done. So I use the last few hours of the day to try to power through things. I know I should prioritize my family time more (I've gotten better about not doing so much work on the weekends!), but it's so difficult feeling the crazy pressure and time frames of a 4x4.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from a colleague - I had to silence it as I was finishing up planning with another teacher. At 10 o'clock in the evening, I got a text stating that a colleague, who retired just over a year ago, had a massive heart attack. They were in the hospital, but as of that evening hadn't regained consciousness. I'm hoping to find out more details today since they were going to go visit.

At this point, I'm just baffled. I'm totally bummed about this news. It really puts life into perspective and brings back to the forefront what's most important. For me, that's not my work. I love what I do and I love working with students and teaching them about life. But that can't come at the expense of my life and my family.  So, it's going to be a crazy next 9 weeks, but I've got to stop bringing so much work home (both physically and mentally) and start focusing more on my family, since they truly are what matter the most to me!