Final Project

Option 1: Make your own personal finance video

Option 2: Write paper about changing personal finance by policy or product
Option 1: Make your own personal finance video
All semester, we've made you watch video after video of Professor Odean waxing
financial. We've seen him buy houses, calculate annuities, and do a pretty mean
Hanumanasana. Now it's your turn! For your final project, you'll make a short,
original video on a personal finance topic of your choice.
What should I do?
Work with the students in your discussion group.
Choose a topic to focus your video on (for a list of potential topics, see the
appendix)
Make and edit a 3-6 minute video that explains some of the core takeaways
about this topic
Upload the video onto Youtube. You won't be able to make the video private,
but you can make it available only to people who have a link, so the public
will not have access to it. You may delete it after final grades are given if you
choose.
One person per team must submit a pdf file for the teams project to
bCourses under the Final Project assignment. Make sure that the file includes
the title of the video, the URL for the video, and clearly list the names and
surnames, Student ID#, and Section of all teammates. Teams that fail to do so
will be assigned 0 points for their work. If you relied on any sources for the
video (e.g., for facts, figures), please provide a references section that cites
these.
What will we be graded on?
This assignment will be graded out of 50 points
o 20 points: Accuracy
Your video accurately portrays information from the readings,
videos, and/or slides from the course.
o 20 points: Communication
Your video explains information in a clear, structured manner
such that a layperson could easily understand it.
o 10 points: Creativity
Your video makes the viewer laugh, sit up, lean in, and/or take
notice. Pretend you're posting the first video for Buzzfeed's
new personal finance page!

Friendly tips that might help you get a good grade:

o Prioritize quality over quantity: This video need not be long. In fact,
a 4-minute video is better than an 8-minute video if all other things are
equal.
o Reign in your subject: Instead of trying to do a video on a large topic
like "Insurance" it might help to think of 1-3 key points you want to
make and just discuss that. For example: "The Three Kinds of
Insurance You Don't Have, But Should." (Already a Buzzfeed article,
see!)
o Write a script: Improv can be fun, but it probably makes sense to
write out a script before you turn the cameras on - or at least an
outline!
o Set aside time to edit: Even bad movies can look good after a great
editor gets his/her hands on the film. Cut out rambling sentences; add
in an explanatory picture, whatever helps you make your point best.
Who will see this video?
We will share and/or make your video available to the rest of the class, but will not
make your video public without your group's permission. We may ask some groups
if we can use your videos for future courses, but, again, would not do so without
your groups' permission.
Do all group members need to be in the video?
No. We hope all group members will split work evenly, but there are many
roles: script-writer, camera person, narrator, editor, best boy (grip), etc. Please
participate in a way that makes you comfortable and puts your best figurative face
forward.
Technical issues
Obviously youll need some equipment and software to make a video. Most smart
phones today can record HD video. Video editing software is often free or included
in the purchase of a computer (e.g., iMovie). Adobes Premiere Pro CC video editing
software is available to students < https://software.berkeley.edu/adobe >. However, this is a
full-featured program that may be difficult to use for the basic editing needed for
these videos.

Appendix: Personal Finance Video Topics

Below is a list of topics you can choose to do your video on. We don't expect you will
say EVERYTHING there is to say about these topics. Instead, we want you to develop
a sense of the critical takeaways for your topic and try to communicate some or all
of those in your video. (If you have a different idea, simply ask! We'll likely say yes!)

Choosing a career based on economic/educational trends

Why the value of money changes across time
Compounding interest
Annuities
How do you approach cost-- - benefit analysis of a masters degree?
For profit universities
Budgeting and Spending: The 50-- - 30-- - 20 rule
Buying versus renting a home
Leasing versus buying a car
Spending for happiness
Credit ratings
Credit cards
Student debt
Mortgages
Personal bankruptcy
The role of insurance
Disability Insurance
Auto Insurance
Homeowners and renters Insurance
Life Insurance
Health Insurance
Long-- - term care insurance
Types of taxes
Marginal tax rates
Tax exemptions, deductions and credits
Decision-- - making biases
Mutual funds, ETFs, and index funds
Diversification and fees
Active versus passive investing; index funds
Asset allocation
Risk & risk aversion
Stocks and bonds
Defined benefit versus defined contribution
Social security
Medicare
Diminishing financial literacy in older adults

Option 2: Write paper about changing personal finance by policy or product

How could you improve peoples lives through a new personal finance policy or
product? Pick a specific personal finance problem in the U.S. and propose either a
policy change or an original product (e.g., software app, insurance policy, financial
instrument) that would address the problem. Who would benefit from this policy or
product? Who might it hurt? What obstacles political, regulatory, or technological
obstacles might it face.
What should I do?
Work with students in your discussion group.
Choose specific personal finance problem in the US and propose a
policy change or a new product that might address that problem.
Write paper; no more than 2,500 words plus up to four tables and graphs
and references.
One member of each team must submit the paper (as a pdf file) to
bCourses under the Final Project assignment. The first page of the
paper must contain the title of the paper and clearly list the names and
surnames, Student ID#, and Section of all teammates. Teams that fail
to do so will be assigned 0 points for their work.
What should we write about?
You should describe in detail the problem you want to address. Provide documented
facts about the breath and severity of the problem. Then describe the policy change
or new product you are proposing. Explain how this policy or product will address
the problem youve identified. Identify the drawbacks to the policy or product. Who
might be hurt by the policy? Who would oppose it? What unmet need would the
product meet? What is the current competition? How is this product different?
Would the product have regulatory hurdles?
How long should the paper be?
The paper should be less than 2,500 words not including references.
Document your facts with authoritative sources. List your references.
Include no more than four tables and/or graphs (none are required).
What will we be graded on?
This assignment will be graded out of 50 points
o 15 points: Communication
Write clearly
o 15 points: accuracy and documentation
Provide authoritative sources for all of your facts and data

o 20 points: Originality and insight

Be original. Be your own devils advocate. Why might
your policy or product fail?
UC Berkeley's honor code states "As a member of the UC Berkeley community,
I act with honesty, integrity, and respect for others." As a tool to promote
academic integrity in this course, written work submitted via bCourses may be
checked for originality using Turnitin. Turnitin compares student work to a
database of books, journal articles, websites, and other student papers. This
creates an opportunity for students to improve their academic writing skills, by
ensuring that other sources have been properly cited and attributed. For more
information about Turnitin at UC Berkeley, visit http://ets.berkeley.edu/academic-
integrity