Do you have any students who don’t absolutely love personal finance as their favorite class? There’s gotta be at least one ;o) This highlighted article for National Reading Month is the perfect blend of financial literacy and personal health, which might appeal to a whole different subset of students. Better yet? Pair up with your school’s health educator and do an interdisciplinary lesson! How much will your administrators love that???

The Financial Impact of Improved Health Behaviors

What is it? This article comes from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Rutgers University. It’s more academic in nature, but still do-able for a high school classroom. I think I’d do it as a jigsaw or some type of guided reading, unless you’ve got a class full of readers at or above grade level. It discusses obvious health & wealth connections, such as the link between smoking and the yearlong cost of cigarettes. It dives deeper, though, to the cyclical effects of financial stress. The article includes a list of data-supported fun facts, too. Really, take a look for yourself, because it’s an outstanding piece!

Why is it cool? Aside from what I’ve already mentioned above, this article has a complete reference section at the bottom, which is helpful in discussing credible sources and media literacy. Clicking around the website gives your students access to a multitude of other health and finance resources, including a quiz they can take.

Questions I Might Ask

1. For comprehension:
   • What are three ways someone could reduce their health-related costs over their lifetime?
   • What is the relationship between compound interest and someone’s overall health?
   • In the chart at the bottom, how did they calculate annual savings based on weekly savings?
2. To persuade:
   • Look at the ten bulleted items. If you were creating a PSA or brochure about the link between health and wealth, which bulleted item would you find most compelling? Why?
   • How would you present that fact? What visuals or language would you use?
   • Who would your target audience be?
3. To make a personal connection:
   • Which of these facts or statistics seems obvious to you?
   • Which fact or statistic was most surprising? or had you never considered before reading the article?

Where is it in the NGPF Collection? This is resource 5 in “Your Health: Insurance & Other Costs” in our Budgeting unit.

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.