The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has an interactive that allows a user to type in their home address (info not stored by the site) and find out their life expectancy. I typed in the address for my hometown in New Jersey where I lived the first 22 years of my life and here's what I found:

Here's how I thought you might use this in your classroom:

• Have students type in their home address including zip code.
  • How does the life expectancy of "My area" compare to the county, the state and the U.S. overall? 
• Type in the address of another family member or friend that lives in a neighboring community and compare their results to yours. 
  • How does the life expectancy in their neighborhood compare? 
  • What might explain the differences in life expectancies based on the neighborhood one lives in? 
  • What types of actions can YOU take that would impact your own life expectancy? 
• Pick five locations in your town, county, nearby city where you think there will be differences in life expectancy. 
  • Were they as different as you expected? 
  • If they were different, what role do you think economics played in these differences? 
• How much does your life expectancy depend on your neighborhood as compared to your own actions? 
• If you wish to retire at around 60 years old and you assume you have the average life expectancy of those in your community, how many years will you rely on retirement savings? 

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.