tl;dr
The problem is people rarely distinguish when they speak: it's UH-fect when most people say it.
Effected means to cause something to happen or to accomplish. E.g., We effected our goals in every area. If you use it as a verb, which is not very common, just treat it as a synonym for accomplish.
Affected means to influence or (archaically) to pretend. E.g., Bad weather affected our plans. Bad weather effected a change in our plans. Note: the bad weather did not "influence" a change in the plans; it "caused" the change. The boy affected a love of Shakespeare to please his girlfriend.
Affect vs. Effect and Who vs. Whom are the most challenging things to teach, I think.
For affect as a noun, well just watch some Criminal Minds episodes and listen to them talk about the affect of the subjects (their mood/expression). Danny Glover does commercials for Pseudo Bulbar Affect, which my aunt has.