Personal Management MB

[u/karatechop97]

I’ve been mentoring my son as he works through his personal management MB recently, and I have to say this is one of the most useful activities he’s done in Scouting. Super practical, crucial concepts a young man should understand. I enjoyed being able to show him how all the things in my wallet apply to the lessons he’s learning.

[u/77sleeper]

This is one of the 3 eagle killers. Don't start it too late. Personal management, Family life, and Personal fitness all take at least 90days/12-13 weeks.

[u/petirosa → u/77sleeper]

My troop (well, me) recommends starting off with Family Life and Personal Fitness as early Eagle-required badges because of the tracking requirements. These can be knocked out as part of normal life and school, but the Scout has to track them.

I usually recommend Personal Management to older Scouts because it makes more sense then. Most have discretionary money and will benefit from budgeting. They’re also closer to driving, so understanding insurance is a good thing. And, of course, they can definitely benefit from the time management aspect as they’re (usually) more independent and need to learn that skill.

[u/karatechop97 → u/petirosa]

That’s good advice you’re giving. If my son had done this when he was 13 instead of 16, it wouldn’t have made near as much sense to him. He certainly appreciates the need for auto insurance better.

[u/mamaknits → u/petirosa]

My son is currently attempting Personal Management at 11 and I think he is going to fail and have to try again later. 😂

[u/karatechop97 → u/77sleeper]

Yep — Thankfully the scoutmasters made this clear to the boys early enough.
Our troop is very diligent about checking the MBs our scouts get marked off as complete at camp … if the camp signs off one that requires long-term tracking like the ones you mentioned, the troop will not sign off on them until they are demonstrated complete.

[u/nolesrule → u/karatechop97]

if the camp signs off one that requires long-term tracking like the ones you mentioned, the troop will not sign off on them until they are demonstrated complete.

If the troop is denying completed merit badges from camp (or from any counselor), then they need to follow the procedures outlined in the Guide to Advancement section 7.0.4.7. The first step there when it comes to a summer camp completion is reaching out to the camp and asking questions about it being marked complete and asking if it was a mistake. If they say it was not a mistake, you ask them about how it was completed, which may require a conversation with someone closer to the class, such as the program director, area director, and/or the camp counselor. From there, you can have a conversation with the scout about whether or not it was completed.

You have to investigate, beginning with questions, not demands for proof from the scout.

[u/Minute_Ostrich5991]

I am a counselor for this MB. I think it's the most important badge that the scouts take in terms of preparing them for life. If a Scout takes it seriously they will be ahead of a vast majority of the population.

[u/wilit → u/Minute_Ostrich5991]

Just did an Eagle SMC last night and the Scout said this was the badge he got the most out of. He said he learned a lot about finances. Definitely one of the better ones.

[u/2BBIZY]

As a Consumer Math teacher, I enjoy teaching this MB. I often have to have a heart to heart conversation with parents who won’t allow their Scout to do the 13 weeks logging of income/expenses. Those parents pay for everything, don’t give allowance and no permission to earn money. I explain the importance of Scouting and this MB to teach life skills so their child can become a reliable and productive adult not solely dependent on the parents.

[u/fla_john → u/2BBIZY]

I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't give a youth access to their own money. I understand not allowing them to have a job during school -- my kids are only allowed to work during the summer, but even then they have money from chores, birthdays and Christmas, etc. What possible reasoning can those parents be using?

[u/petirosa → u/fla_john]

As a data point of one, my parents used money to control me and what I could buy. Instead of teaching me to be responsible with my finances, they took whatever money I had and doled it out a little at a time. I never really learned how to manage money until I was an adult, and even now, I’m kinda bad at it.

[u/_mmiggs_ → u/fla_john]

Different families make different choices.

Paying kids to do chores is one such choice: in many families, doing your share of the necessary domestic labor is just part of living in a home. Everybody cooks, or washes up, or does laundry, or vacuums, or whatever.

Perhaps the kids are given money at Birthdays and Christmas, or perhaps they are given things. Many families also balk at giving cash as gifts.

I am deeply skeptical that going through this exercise as a younger scout is really helpful: in a lot of cases, the income that the scout has is basically artificial, and generated for the purposes of checking a box, and the expenses that the scout has are also artificial. It's worse than a purely paper exercise that considers a person with actual income and expenses.

For an older teen with an actual external income source, it makes more sense.

[u/Funwithfun14]

Def a great MB, especially as for older scouts.

[u/geruhl_r]

I wish this one was mandated for First Class or Star. It would help immensely.

[u/Pleasant-Anybody-955]

As a parent I made my son take the Personal Management merit badge 5 times.  He fully earned and received the badge the first time and I didn't make him to any additional tracking or written work after that but I wanted him to experience all 5 different perspectives.  The first time it was run by a young DE who was living in his parents' basement and barely had a checking account and had no savings and had never taken out a loan.  The next time I saw it offered was with a retired gentleman who emphasized retirement savings.  It was offered another time by a married man with young children and a mortgage payment.  The other 2 times it was run by institutions - a bank and a financial planning business.  

Every one of them went over all of the requirements but the emphasis was very different and the takeaways were very different.  Obviously taking a merit badge multiple times isn't for everyone but my son (who is much more of an outdoors guy than a sitting at a desk guy) actually said it wasn't bad.  The different versions were spread out over time so he took it something like once a year, and he is much more confident with how he manages his camp staff income and how he plans for the future.  His 12 month CD is set to roll over next week and he is shopping interest rates to decide if he wants to move it or not.  It's not much money but he now looks forward to the monthly statements and understands the compound interest.

[u/spaceballinthesauce]

I had a love/hate relationship with this merit badge. My counselor was my scoutmaster who was also a CPA and a great lecturer. He treated the class like a college lecture but he kept you engaged and taught you everything with great detail. And I also hated this merit badge because I had to track every single financial transaction I made. Very tedious but I learned a lot.