20% Update

•Throught this project, Allie and I learned that what you want isn't always what you need. We learned how to spend money wisely on education and how easy it was to get a scholarship. It was successful for us because we are now easily able to reasonably think about our future. 

•This month, we have put together all of our gathered information so it's more comprehensible to others. 

•Throughout this project, it was difficult to find some necessary information because there weren't many statistics to go off from. 

Schools {CCS}

     Socialist, Communist, and Capitalist countries are all unique and similar in numerous ways in the field of education. In socialistic societies, students are given freedom to select their desired career paths. However, the schools they attend are all chosen for them according to their career. In communist countries, schooling is mandatory. Students are required to finish schooling. Depending on what is needed by the country and what a specific student excels at, their career path and schooling options are chosen for students. In capitalistic places, students have the right to choose which career path they wish to take and whether they want to participate in public or private schooling options. Socialist and communistic societies both have public schooling while capitalist and socialist societies have private schooling.

Definitions

A stock is a share of a company that you're permitted to purchase.

A dividend is when a company pays the shareholder, often quarterly, an amount of money. The amount given is based on the company's overall profit.

A trade is a stock owned for six months or less. 

A catalyst is something that initiates an event to happen. 

Lemonade Stand

       

       The average cost of one cup of lemonade was 12 cents to produce. The variables involved in the game included when to buy and how much to buy of the necessary ingredients. The sugar, ice, and lemons were all perishable. The constants present in the game were the cups. I didn't gain much from this game, but it provided a brief introduction of how businesses work. 

Minimum Wage

http://money.cnn.com/infographic/pf/low-wage-worker/

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/03/11/raising-the-minimum-wage-wont-help-the-poor

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/nyregion/fearing-a-minimum-wage-increase-will-be-bad-for-business.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

      The president's call to increase the minimum wage will make it harder for firms to hire workers because it will make workers more expensive. The minimum wage should not be increased, especially given the state of the labor market. Kevin Hassett said, "Lifting the minimum wage would result in job loss. A bunch of workers would get bigger checks while a bunch of workers would have to lose their jobs." Rather than increasing the minimum wage, getting the millions of currently unemployed workers into productive employment should be a major focus of government. Hassett also said, “Many people who have little experience get their start at places like fast food restaurants. But if wages are higher, employers are less likely to take a chance on people with less experience because it's a big investment. Fewer people would get a shot at proving themselves." Minimum wage workers tend be young and unskilled. Less than half of workers under the age of 25 are currently employed and many rely on low paying opportunities to get their first break. The majority will earn a raise within a year, but they currently lack the experience and skill to compete for higher paying jobs. Raising the minimum wage makes it harder for these inexperienced workers to find a job, because businesses will either eliminate positions or choose to hire someone with more experience at the higher mandated wage. Joseph Berger wrote,"Particularly skilled cleaners will receive up to $11 an hour. Cleaners in buildings that require unionized workers start at $9.20 an hour. Even a $7.25 worker costs an extra $1.74 for every hour worked because of liability and disability insurance, Social Security and other costs. Equipment can also be expensive; drivable scrubbing machines cost up to $12,000 each.Should the minimum wage be raised this year, Mr. Cestaro cannot charge a store like Sears any more because he is under a long-term contract."  In contrast, Jared Bernstein stated, "even if employers give workers fewer hours, workers' hourly wages would be higher so they could still come away with higher earnings." However, it is clear that fewer people would be able to work for a specific company and few would benefit from the higher earnings. 

Salary

Salary: $100,000

Gross: $100,000

http://www.sale-tax.com/RifleCO

http://taxes.about.com/od/Federal-Income-Taxes/qt/Tax-Rates-For-The-2013-Tax-Year.htm

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/240

Goal Summary

Allie and I reached our goal for our 20% time project. We accomplished our goal by researching accessible scholarships so students can see how easy it is to get a further education after completing high school. Our goal was fairly simple, so we didn't encounter any issues.

Our goal we hope to have accomplished by the end of November is further research and  to find simple and affordable places to attend college. We also want to express the importance of budgeting money wisely. By December, we want to somehow express our information to our classmates.

Blackjack

    On Wednesday, the Free Enterprise classes participated in friendly games of blackjack. 
When the series of games began, I was completely oblivious to what was going on. My skills remained finite until about the third hand. At that point, I began to understand the concept of the game. Throughout the experience, I learned that you won't gain as much when your emotions come into play. You shouldn't play a game you don't understand in real life situations if you're not willing to lose money. 

Stock Portfolio

     I purchased one share of Apple as an investment. Apple currently pays a quarterly dividend of $3.05 per common share. Over the past years, the dividend has increased at a steady rate. Due to Apple's current popularity and technological advancements, I think that the stock will continue to increase at a steady and constant pace. If this stock reaches above 10-20%, I will probably consider selling a stock or two. 

    Recently, I have invested in EOG resources. EOG currently pays $.19 per common share. Gradually over the past years, the dividend has increased. I think the stock will continue to do well because of the high demand of oil and gas. EOG Resources, Inc. is one of the largest independent crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States. Similar to my plan with Apple, if the stock reaches above 10-20%, I will consider selling other stocks. 

Trades VS. Investments

In terms of the market, trades and investments are two completely different methods for making profit. When making an investment, the initial goal is to make a financial gain over a long period of time. Investments are commonly held for years, taking advantage of interest, dividends and stock splits. Trading only regards the gain of wealth over a short span. Trading profits are done by buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price within a relatively short time. Catalysts relate to events that have either occurred or haven't occurred. If the events are taking place and your products are within that event, you'll want to sell your stock. If they haven't happened, people will either want to buy them..or wait. When you short sell, you buy stocks from other companies and you sell them individually to other buyers. You are able to receive the difference between the price that you sold them for and the original price. 

Thursday Event

When I first entered the room, complete chaos unfolded around me. The blaring sound of videos engulfed the room and students scattered across the room to gather various pieces of candy that was placed throughout. The race to pick up the most candy diminished within about thirty seconds. After, we all piled up our candy on top of tables in the classroom. After Mr. Kapptie established what was going to occur, the chaos began. Every few minutes, a stock on a type of candy was updating and we would all frantically update the rankings. The whole atmosphere was actually quite intimidating for me. The whole idea made me kind of timid because everyone else was superior to me because they had obtained more candy than I had.

20% time

For my 20% time project, my partner and I are researching and pondering the thought of what life would be like if one settled for a low wage job. As a result of our project, I am hoping that people will apprehend that our economy is uncertain, times are harder, and finding jobs in some areas will be difficult. Throughout the duration of our project so far, we have gathered information of rental and hotel costs in the location that we chose to have our setting located. The site we chose is Los Angeles, California. We have also researched costs of transportation throughout the city. By October, Allie and I hope to have an analysis on various things to express that people with low paying jobs have a difficult time meeting the demands of living costs.

Plans After High School

After I complete my High School career, I plan to attend College and maintain a high paying job. I plan to gain knowledge at a College in either Wyoming, Kansas, or Arizona. I'm not completely sure as to what I want to do as a career, but I am thinking I would enjoy a design or business profession. To pay options, I will rely on academic scholarships that I hope to recieve and other sideline jobs that I will uphold. To get around, I hope to have a new Volkswagen Passat. This car starts at a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $21,640.{http://www.kbb.com/volkswagen/passat/2013-volkswagen-passat/?r=176770503664640770} Initially, I would like to live in Arizona. Reasonable rental prices vary from $800-$1200 per month. {http://www.zillow.com/phoenix-az/rent-houses/} From the research that I did, I realized that it is important to plan out your future accordingly. I also learned that if you want to live how you want, you have to make sacrifices and work hard for how you end up and what you want to be able to accomplish.