Budgeting Activities

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Examine a number of cartoons about the challenge of identifying needs vs. wants and choose one to analyze in more depth
• Explain the cartoon's key message about needs vs. wants and how it depicts that message

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Get up and out of their seats to identify various budget expenses amongst different categories
• Discuss with classmates about their reasoning for their team's categorizations

In this activity students will:

• Create a budget to meet a predetermined savings goal
• Manage tradeoffs when making purchasing decisions 

In this activity students will:

• Simulate living for a month with a $1000 budget
• Make decisions between which expenses they can afford to pay and which to sacrifice
• Read information and facts about unemployed Americans living through poverty

Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Identify which factors are most important to them when comparing options for three different products
• Conduct research on different options available to them from various vendors to find the best product for them
• Explain how comparison shopping can be a useful strategy when making a purchasing decision

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Determine an appropriate amount to budget for housing
• Find an apartment that balances affordability, amenities, and proximity to public transport in a city of their choice
• Avoid common pitfalls and hidden fees associated with renting an apartment

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Prioritize budget items to determine their needs vs. wants.
• Consider how their values and budget ultimately determine how they spend their income.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Choose 5 US cities to compare using cost of living and economic growth measurements.
• Choose which would be best for them and do an apartment search to determine where they could afford to live.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Research the cost of utilities for an apartment in the city of their choosing.
• Prioritize to fit their budget.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Follow multi-step directions to complete a full adult budget including housing, transportation, food, insurance, student loans, etc.
• Reflect on the adult budget they’ve completed and assess how their choices impact their lifestyle.

With this Fine Print students will be able to:

• Read an electricity bill
• Identify various elements of an electricity bill, such as year-to-year electricity use by month, taxes, and supplier billing details

With this Fine Print students will be able to:

• Read a residential lease
• Identify various elements of a residential lease, such as length of lease, rent, and utility details

In this Common Core Standards-aligned project, students will assume the role of roommates deciding how to split costs of a shared apartment. The project focuses on negotiation, clear communication, and budgeting with a spreadsheet.

• Available in English & Spanish

In this Common Core Standards-aligned project, students plan a potluck Friendsgiving dinner, comparison shop for ingredients, and create an expense report via spreadsheet to track their “spending.”

In this Common Core-aligned project, students will track their spending (using a spreadsheet) for a defined period of time, and then will track their spending a second and third time using small interventions aimed and reducing their spending. They’ll reflect on their process as well as on spending habits as a whole.

• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Explore how to adopt new financial strategies when you have a side gig.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Do research on car costs such as purchase price, loan payment amount, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.
• Compare these costs to their estimated monthly take-home pay.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Research various online tools and apps pertaining to payments, saving, budgeting, and robo-advising to discover and compare their features
• Identify the tools they would like to use in the future 
• Reflect on why online financial tools and apps have increased in popularity