November SmartStart

November is Consumer Rights & Responsibilities month at LifeSmarts, and it’s a great time to gain some insights into the teens we work with. The most recent Piper Sandler Taking Stock with Teens® survey asked more than 9,000 Gen Z teens about consumer trends and spending patterns. The survey found:

37% of teens hold a part-time job – down slightly from 40% last spring

Teens’ “self-reported” spending was down 1% to $2,316, and the parent contribution to spending was 62% vs. 60% last spring

For upper income teens, food was still the number one spending priority for males at 25%, with 28% of females reporting that clothing was number one

Cash App ranked No.1 for most preferred peer-to-peer money transfer app over Venmo. For Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) transactions, teens said they used PayPal “Pay in 4” most frequently followed by Afterpay

Teens favorite consumer, shopping, and social brands are: Amazon, SHEIN, Nike, GOAT, Temu, New Balance, Crocs, Vans, Sephora, Ulta, e.l.f., Bath & Body Works, Coach, Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, McDonald’s, TikTok, SNAP and Instagram
Teens that consume or are willing to try plant-based meat hit an all-time low with 35%; Goldfish was their favorite snack

Teens spend 29% of daily video consumption on Netflix and 29% on YouTube

87% of teens own an iPhone; 88% expect an iPhone to be their next phone and 34% of teens own an Apple Watch

Click here for additional results.

Learning Resources
We have a variety of fun ways to keep your students engaged while they learn!

The Daily Quiz of just five questions can be taken more than once a day and provides the correct answers at the end.

The LifeSmarts Content Vocabulary of the Week can be used in many ways – class bell-ringers, ice breakers, with LifeSmarts in a Box games, and more.

Students can test their knowledge on the Weekly Quiz by logging in, clicking on their quizzes tab on the left, choosing the green weekly quizzes folder and the 2023-2024 quizzes.

Our LifeSmarts Question-of-the-Day Calendars are great study tools for teams. These can be used for quick competitions, reviewing content, and initiating discussion.

November LifeSmarts Flippity.

LifeSmarts Kahoots

LifeSmarts Quizlets

Search for LifeSmarts on Quizizz

For more ideas, see a list of our favorite ways to use LifeSmarts with your class, club, chapter, or team!

NEW LifeSmarts Adventure

LifeSmarts Adventure provides a fun way for students to quiz themselves and compete
– all on the go. Check it out! LifeSmarts Adventure can be used as a practice tool for students to quiz themselves. It is also a fun and accessible way for all consumers to test their consumer smarts. To play, students answer a series of LifeSmarts questions at each stop. All users earn virtual completion badges. New episodes will be released throughout the year but currently a LifeSmarts summer camp and a national parks road trip are available.

November TeamSmarts Challenge
The November TeamSmarts Challenge, featuring this month’s focus on Consumer Rights and Responsibilities, is open now through November 30 at 11:55PM EST. Top scoring JV, Varsity, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA teams earn a cash award of $100. Don’t miss out!

October TeamSmarts Winners
Congratulations to the October Personal Finance TeamSmarts Winners!
Varsity: Swifties, Pine Grove Area School District, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
Junior Varsity: GCR2- SEEK, Owensville Middle School, Owensville, Missouri
4-H: Floyd County 4-H – Rome, Georgia, Georgia 4-H
FBLA: Jericho, Jericho High School FBLA, Jericho, New York
FCCLA: Page County High School FCCLA, Shenandoah, Virginia

Announcing the NEW LifeSmarts LifeSparks Awards

The new LifeSmarts LifeSparks Award recognizes exemplary LifeSmarts Teams in honor of our milestone 30th anniversary. All LifeSmarts teams are invited to participate in this new recognition program. Teams will be honored for robust participation; demonstrating exceptional knowledge across all LifeSmarts topics; and going above and beyond in the community. All LifeSmarts teams that gain 30 credits throughout the 2023-24 program year will be recognized with this year’s LifeSmarts LifeSparks Awards. And a few lucky teams will win special prizes! Teams do not have to compete in either the Varsity or Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championships to earn this honor. Teams will use the LifeSparks scorecard to map out their winning strategy to reach 30 credits by March 31, 2024, and apply for the award by the deadline of April 5, 2024. Visit this link for additional information. We can’t wait to see your team shine!

Matt’s Buzzers – Don’t Forget to Apply
If you need a buzzer system for your team / club / chapter / school, don’t forget about the opportunity to apply for a grant from Matt’s Buzzers! Click here to find out more and apply. The deadline is soon, so be sure to complete the simple application immediately. Several LifeSmarts programs and schools have been chosen for these grants in the last three years. Good luck!

LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge
Hurry! The LifeSmarts FBLA Fall Challenge closes at 11:55 PM, Friday, November 10th! The LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge is a competitive event that begins with teams of two competing online. Advisers click here for additional information. To complete the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge, teams of two high school or two middle school FBLA students (with one serving as the team captain) take:

Two online quizzes together – one fifty-question Personal Finance Quiz and one fifty-question Consumer Quiz. These are called “TeamSmarts” quizzes since they work as a team to complete them. These are only available to the Team Captain when they login. They will see a folder named FBLA LifeSmarts Challenge Fall 2023. The quizzes are located inside that folder as well as the team captain’s individual quiz.

Both team members also take the individual 60-question quiz that covers all LifeSmarts topics. Students log in individually and chooses the same folder on their competition dashboard and takes the Individual Quiz.

For additional information and help creating your teams, click here. Questions? Contact us.

FCCLA/ LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl Update
We look forward to meeting 40 of the best and brightest teams competing in the FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl at the FCCLA National Fall Conference this weekend. These teams will vie for the opportunity to advance to the finals at the National Leadership Conference in Seattle next June. Congratulations to all the teams and their advisers/coaches and good luck in Birmingham!

Share My Lesson

Be sure to check out our new partnership with Share My Lesson. We will be sharing more LifeSmarts U lessons there soon.

IMPORTANT! Norton Wild Card Team Application Deadline Extended
Great news! The deadline has been extended until November 30th! We are excited to share this exciting opportunity for new teams to apply for a Wild Card bid to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship, April 18-21, 2024, in San Diego, CA. Ten teams will be selected as Norton Wild Card Teams and will receive a travel stipend of $4,000 to cover travel costs. Applicant teams must meet specific qualifications found here.
Application deadline is November 30. Contact us with questions. Get started on your way to the National LifeSmarts Championship today!

Enter the new LifeSmarts 30th Anniversary Video Contest!
LifeSmarts turns 30 in 2024 and we want you to help us celebrate by creating a short anniversary video. The competition is open to LifeSmarts individuals or teams in the Junior Varsity (grades 6 - 8) or the Varsity (grades 9 -12) levels. The individuals and teams that create the top six videos will receive cash prizes of 1st Place - $200.00; 2nd Place - $150.00; 3rd Place - $100.00; and three Honorable Mentions - $50.00 each.
Videos will be judged on creativity and originality. The deadline is December 1, 2023. Urge your students to begin the process today! Complete rules are available here. Good luck and happy videoing!

Varsity Wild Card Opportunity
Qualifying Varsity teams – including teams from partner student leadership organizations (4-H, BPA, FCCLA, FBLA, SkillsUSA, and others) – are invited to apply for a Wild Card bid to compete at the National LifeSmarts Championship. Three to five teams will be selected. Teams will work together to complete the Wild Card TeamSmarts quiz and design an educational PowerPoint or Prezi on a LifeSmarts topic. The deadline is February 22, 2024. Note: Teams whose State LifeSmarts Championship occurs after that date may contact the LifeSmarts team for application information. Successful teams receive a $1,000 travel stipend upon completion of a community service project. Don’t miss out on your chance to compete in San Diego!

Updated LifeSmarts Calendar
Want some help keeping track of LifeSmarts deadlines? We are updating our LifeSmarts calendar to help keep everyone in the know! Be sure to check back often for your state competition dates, upcoming deadlines, and more.

Thirty Years Ago
Where were you in 1994? Check out these memories: Popular movies included Forrest Gump and the Lion King. The cost of a movie ticket was $4.08, and the average cost of a gallon of gas was $1.09. LifeSmarts began as a pilot in four states: Arizona, the District of Columbia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.