• WHITEBOARD VERSION
     
    Questions to ask yourself:
    How much money does a middle school student needs to "live" each month?
    How do you spend your money?
     
      EXAMPLES:

    Entertainment $15
    (one $10 movie/month plus $5 popcorn) 

    Monthly Allowance $40

    Music/Game Downloads  $20 
    (16/month @ $1.25)

    Pay from walking neighbor's dog  $10
    (four ten-minute walks per month)

    Snacks $10

    In the example above, does this student have enough money to meet their monthly expenses? How can be determined? 
    The student has income of $50 per month and expenses of $45. The difference of $5 can be categorized as "savings."     Here is the same the income and expense items in the form of a monthly budget:

    Income   Expenses
    Allowance $40 Entertainment $15
    Dog Walking Pay $10                          Music $20
      Snacks $10
    Total Income $50 Total Expenses $45

    How do you show the $5 difference between income and expenses?
    This is called a budget.

    Why it might be useful to keep a budget?

    Activity 1:
    In order to determine whether Mary Jo has enough money to go camping, you must create a budget using a spreadsheet that tracks her monthly income and expenses. This computer lesson utilizes the Fill Right, Fill Down, and SUM function. Google Spreadsheet application will be used for this spreadsheet activity.Mary Joes Budget Activity



    How can you increase monthly savings for a large purchase in the future?

    What percentage of monthly expenses is savings (5/50 = 10%). How do you calculate percentage? What percentage of expenses should you allow for snacks (20%), music (40%), and entertainment (30%). Expense categories must add up to 100%.

    Is dog walking income money you can count on? What would happen if the family paying for the dog walking moved away and there was now no dog walking income? What would happen if a second family wanted its dog walked and dog walking pay increased to $20?

    Open Worksheet 1 to follow along and review answers with our class.
    What types of decisions involving money can help a person "plan, save, and succeed?"

    Activity 2:
    Here are instructions to help you set up your spreadsheet on Google Spreadsheets for your own personal budget. As with Mary Jo's Budget, you will use several functions and formulas to perform the calculations. My Budget