Pathfinder Guidebook · FYE 100 Module 5 · Financial Planning with Purpose
10 Essential Skills in this module
  • 3Quantitative Reasoning
  • 6Professionalism
Mile Marker

Mile Marker #5: Understanding My Money

The assignment, with support, and a form you can fill in and save.

About 10 minutes 7 of 8 in this module

The point is to know yourself a little better when it comes to money. Nobody needs a perfect budget.

Leave this module with one honest insight and one realistic intention. There are no right or wrong financial situations here, only honest and not-so-honest responses.

AI use: AI-supported

You may use AI as a thinking partner to explore your ideas. Work with what it gives you, then write your responses in your own voice. Never share real account numbers, income, or other personal financial details with an AI tool.

See the AI Course Policy in the syllabus. Want a place to start? Try the optional AI thinking partner prompt.

Look back at

Lesson 1.4: AI use labels

Where to submit

Submit your responses in the Mile Marker #5 assignment in Blackboard. Check Blackboard for the due date.

Want help keeping it organized? The fill-in form at the bottom of this page saves your answers as a PDF named "Mile Marker #5" that you can upload to the assignment.

Prefer paper? A printable handout for this Mile Marker is with the assignment in Blackboard. Fill it in by hand, then upload a photo or scan.

You never have to share your tracker or budget. If you want to attach one, that's your choice.

Jump to the fill-in form

Respond to each question

Question 1

What You Noticed

After completing the Dollar Tracker, what did you learn about your spending patterns? What surprised you, or confirmed something you already suspected?

  • What category took more than you expected?
  • Where did small purchases add up?
  • What does your spending tell you about your actual priorities right now, even if they're different from what you'd say out loud?
A strong answer

Names one real pattern from your tracker, like a category or a kind of small purchase, and says what it shows about your actual priorities.

Look back at

Dollar Tracker (your tracker)

Lesson 5.3: Three steps to seeing clearly

Question 2

Your Financial Reality

Describe your current financial situation honestly, not for judgment but for clarity. You don't need to share specific numbers.

  • What does your financial life look like right now: tight, manageable, comfortable, complicated, somewhere in between?
  • What's the biggest financial pressure you're dealing with this semester?
  • What's one financial resource, habit, or support you already have that's helping, even a little?
  • Which other part of your wellness (like emotional, physical, or social) does money affect most for you right now?
  • In your own words, what does financial wellness mean to you, and how does money stress, or the lack of it, affect your schoolwork?
A strong answer

Describes your situation honestly without numbers, names your biggest pressure and one support, defines financial wellness in your own words, and connects money to your schoolwork and one other part of your wellness.

Look back at

Lesson 5.2: The eight dimensions of wellness

Money help at OCTC

Question 3

One Realistic Next Step

Based on what you noticed this week, what's one small, realistic thing you want to do differently, or keep doing, when it comes to money?

  • It doesn't have to be dramatic. It just has to be honest and doable for your actual life right now.
  • Why does this feel like the right next step for where you are?
A strong answer

Names one specific step, connects it to something you noticed, and explains why it's realistic for your life right now.

Look back at

Lesson 5.3: Find your money leaks

Question 4

Your Zero-Based Budget

Look at the zero-based budget you built in the Budget Builder. You don't need to share any dollar amounts.

  • Which categories did you give jobs to, and why those?
  • Did every dollar get a job, so your income minus your expenses and savings equals zero? If not, is money left over or short, and what will you adjust?
  • What did giving every dollar a job show you that you hadn't noticed before?
A strong answer

Explains why you chose your categories, says whether your budget balances to zero (and what you'll adjust if it doesn't), and names one thing that building the budget showed you. No dollar amounts needed.

Look back at

Budget Builder (your budget)

Lesson 5.3: Give every dollar a job

Question 5

Keeping It Private

If you used AI for any part of this module, what did you leave out of your prompts to protect your privacy? How did you describe your situation without sharing personal financial details? If you didn't use AI, that's a complete answer. Just say so.

A strong answer

Names what you kept out and how you worded things instead, or says plainly that you didn't use AI.

Look back at

AI as a money thinking partner in Lesson 5.3

Optional: AI thinking partner

If you'd like help thinking through your answers, try this prompt in Microsoft Copilot or another AI tool:

Try this prompt

"Ask me questions to help me understand my spending patterns and identify one realistic change I could make, without sharing any personal financial details."

Use what's useful. Your final responses must be in your own words.

Keep it private

Never share account numbers, income amounts, debt amounts, or other sensitive financial information with an AI tool. Use general descriptions only: "I spend a lot on food," not "I spend $347 a month on groceries."

Look back at

AI as a money thinking partner in Lesson 5.3

How it's scored

Full credit goes to responses that are honest, specific, and self-aware, written in your own voice. Generic answers that could apply to anyone won't earn full credit. There are no right or wrong financial situations. The goal is honest self-knowledge, not a perfect money plan.

Mile Marker scoring guide
ScoreWhat it means
4Strong ProgressYour response is thoughtful, specific, and clearly connected to the purpose of the Mile Marker. You show strong reflection, effort, and engagement with the topic.
3On TrackYour response addresses the main parts of the task and shows reflection and engagement. Some ideas could be explained in more detail or connected more clearly.
2DevelopingYour response is partially complete or too general. More detail, reflection, or clearer connections are needed.
1Needs RevisionYour response is very limited, incomplete, or unclear and does not fully address the task.
0No EvidenceNo submission was provided, or the response does not meaningfully engage with the task.

Fill it in and save as PDF

Type your responses below, then select Save as PDF. Upload the PDF to the Mile Marker #5 assignment in Blackboard.

Pathfinder Tip

Your typing is saved in this browser as you go, so you can come back later on the same device. It isn't sent anywhere until you upload it.

Mile Marker #5: Understanding My Money

In the print window, choose Save as PDF (or Microsoft Print to PDF) as the printer. The file name will start with "Mile Marker #5".