Confident math skills make for confident personal finance decisions. Explore these free activities that go back to the basics — the arithmetic and pre-algebra skills students will encounter regularly in the real world.

Life Skills Math

Practice percentages, calculations, and order of operations using real-world contexts that are relevant for high school students. The following personal finance activities incorporate those math fundamentals. They’re great for reinforcing math skills in a personal finance class or for a pre-algebra math class focused on life skills.

15-20 minute activities:

• CALCULATE: Reconcile Your Checkbook
• CALCULATE: Credit Card Repayment
• CALCULATE: The Cost of Auto Loans
• MOVE: Paycheck Scavenger Hunt
• ANALYZE: Understanding Amortization
• ANALYZE: Understanding Inflation
• MOVE: Using the Rule of 72

25–40 minute activities

• CASE STUDY: Get Me Out of My Debt Dungeon!
• RESEARCH: Monthly Cost of Car Ownership
• COMPARE: Car Insurance Comparison Shopping

Longer project:

• CREATE: A Salary-Based Budget

Reading a Graph

Teach data literacy with our library of DATA CRUNCH, ANALYZE, and CALCULATE activities! Check out these relevant and data-driven activities:

• CALCULATE: What is the Value of a College Education?
• ANALYZE: The Racialized Costs of Banking
• ANALYZE: The Wage Gap
• ANALYZE: Household Debt and Credit Report
• ANALYZE: Inequalities in Investing
• DATA CRUNCH: Could Americans Cover an Emergency Expense?
• DATA CRUNCH: How Have Real Wages Changed Over Time?
• DATA CRUNCH: What’s Been The Best Investment Since 1926?

More Pre-Algebra

Looking for something a bit more math-centric? Check out the NGPF Math Activities page! There are some great pre-algebra activities under the topics Percents, Functions, and Expressions & Equations.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.

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