Budget Boss

What your kid learns

• Every dollar gets a job

  A budget is a plan for money before you spend it. Money in minus planned money out should equal zero. That’s a balanced budget.

• Your split, your values

  Split your money into Save, Spend and Give. How much goes where depends on what matters to you.

• The grown-up guide: 50/30/20

  Grown-ups budget paychecks that also cover needs, like rent and food. One popular guide splits take-home pay: 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% savings.

• Plan, then compare

  Plan first. At the end of the month, compare the plan with what really happened. Then adjust next month’s plan.

The story: Ravi plans the month

Ravi splits a pretend $60 into Save, Spend and Give, then adjusts for a surprise.

1. Helper: Ravi gets a pretend $60 this month. Last month, it was gone by week two.
2. Ravi: This time, I’ll plan first. Every dollar gets a job.
3. Ravi: Save $20 for my bike goal. Spend $34. Give $6 to the animal shelter.
4. Helper: Money in, minus planned money out, equals zero. That’s a balanced budget.
5. Ravi: Uh-oh. A surprise: a friend’s birthday gift, $10.
6. Ravi: I’ll move $10 from Spend. Save stays safe.
7. Helper: Plan it first, or it plans itself. At month’s end, compare the plan to what happened.

The game: Month planner

A pretend $60 comes in. Give every dollar a job: Save, Spend or Give. Plan until nothing is left.

Games use pretend money and work with taps or a keyboard. Nothing is timed.

New words

budget

a plan for your money before you spend it

Also called: spending plan

category

a group in your plan, like Save, Spend or Give

50/30/20

a grown-up guide: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings

balanced budget

money in minus planned money out equals zero

Questions at the end

• Which budget is balanced?
• You get a pretend $60 and save $15. What percent did you save?
• A pretend grown-up takes home $1,000. With 50/30/20, how much goes to needs?
• A $10 surprise shows up mid-month. What does a budget boss do?
• Why compare your plan with what really happened?

Remember this

Plan it first, or it plans itself.

Talk about it

If you had $60 for a month, how would you split it, and why?

Try it at home: Make a one-page budget

1. Take a blank sheet of paper.
2. Write money in. Then plan Save, Spend and Give until it reaches zero.
3. At month’s end, compare your plan with what happened.

Make the budget on one sheet of paper.

School standards

• Grades 6–8
• National Standards for Personal Financial Education: Spending, Saving
• Common Core Math 7.RP.A.3