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Where Does the Money Go?

Subject: Economics
Grade: 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

Students learn about personal budgets and create their own.

Objectives

Students identify sources of income, distinguish between fixed and variable expenses, distinguish between needs and wants, and develop a personal budget.

Keywords

budget, income, expenses, needs and wants, consumer, money

Materials Needed

• an overhead projector
• a transparency of the Sample Budget
• My Spending Plan (one copy for each student)
• computers with Internet access (optional)
• Calculate Income (optional)

Lesson Plan

• Use a projector to display the Sample Budget to http://web.archive.org/web/20000815054834/http://www.themint.org/documen... the entire class, or copy the budget onto the chalkboard. Have students take a few minutes to look over the budget and discuss the items listed.
• Ask students to rank the budget items in order of importance and then determine whether each item is a "want" or a "need." Have students figure out what percentage of the total income each item represents and determine whether there is a relationship between the importance of an item and the percentage of the budget it represents.
• Provide a copy of My Spending Plan to each student, and ask students to complete a personal budget.

Assessment

Evaluate students on their participation in class discussion and on the appropriateness of their personal budgets.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Linda Starr