Students explore budgeting apps and learn spreadsheet skills to create their own budget. In the Application, students create budget spreadsheets with varying levels of complexity. This lesson is in the Budgeting & Systems of Inequalities Unit of Financial Algebra.

Students will be able to:

• Categorize purchases into needs and wants
• Prioritize spending using a limited budget
• Adapt a budget based on changing financial circumstances

Students evaluate functions, graph points on a coordinate plane, and represent simple functions using words, tables, graphs, and equations. In the Application, students graph functions about gross income and deductions. This lesson is in the Taxes & Fundamentals of Algebra Unit of Financial Algebra.

Students will be able to:

• Summarize the general use of tax revenue by the government
• Explain which categories account for the most government spending, how they affect us, and with which organizations/entities they are associated
• Demonstrate the importance and use of taxes with the MOVE: Your Tax Dollar In Action activity

Race to find out how our federal tax dollars are spent

Objectives:

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Play the game Spent and reflect on their experience of living paycheck to paycheck

Estimate time to complete: 30 minutes

If you’re looking to kick off the semester with a great activity that will have your classroom buzzing with excitement and conversation, look no further than the activity, INTERACTIVE: Living Paycheck to Paycheck.

Through the arcade game Spent, students are presented with the following scenario: They are unemployed, have lost their house, and are down to their last $1,000. Their goal? They must try to make it 30 days without running out of money.

Microtransactions are making mega billions

Insurance covers it, except when it doesn’t.

Are Americans dishing out more cash on takeout, or keeping it simmering at home?

Food away from home (55.70% of Food Spending)