THE WIDOW JONES

WORK IN PAIRS!

....and choose wisely because you will be making important life decisions with this person (as well as working together for 2 weeks AHH!)

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

The Process: You will prepare a financial plan for your client and her children. In order to accomplish this, you need to do a vast amount of research regarding an efficient, risk-free plan allowing her financial goals to be met. Keep in mind it is your job to invest her money, reduce her debt, start a college fund for the kids and provide a monthly income for the Jones family. How you go about doing this and the services you provide are uniquely yours and yours alone. As an independent financial consultant, it is up to you and your partner to come up with the best plan for your client. In order to help you, we will be discussing topics such as:

� Stocks, Bonds & Mutual Funds
� Insurance: Auto, Homeowners, Life & Health
� Savings Accounts, CD�s, T-Bills and Money Market Funds
� Home Mortgage Rates
� Preparing a monthly Household Budget

� Costs of raising children

*Finding Mrs. Jones a job

1. Resources: You will find a wealth of financial information on the Internet related to your goals and objectives.  I have provided some starter links below

2. Learning Advice: Each piece of a financial plan and budget should fit well with the next. You need to lessen your client's exposure to risk while at the same time increasing her net worth. Also, remember that your client will probably need help understanding it all, so be prepared to explain all of your decisions to the class.

3. Evaluation: You will be assessed on the thoroughness of your research, the plausibility of your plan and the manner in which you present this plan to your fellow students. While there is no way to predict the future, your research and presentation should provide a sound path for the future.  Please see the rubric tab!

**** You must address all of the bullet points of information described in the Introduction

**** You must:

1) Write a letter to Mrs. Jones summarizing your basic plan with detailed explanations based on your study of economics. This letter should be 2-3 pages in length, typed, 1.5 spacing.  YOU MUST BUY HER A HOUSE, CONDO, OR TOWNHOME!

2) Provide a family budget accounting for monthly and yearly expenses for the next year. There will be a total of 12 monthly budgets + 1 yearly budget.

3) Include a chart or excel spread sheet detailing your investment plan. Whether or not you choose mutual funds, savings accounts, an IRA, etc..., I need to see how much money you are putting where. Also, is I need to see what kind of mutual fund, IRA, and accounts you will be utilizing.