1. The Budgeting Game!
Play this video:
Discuss: What does it mean to make a budget? Why is budgeting an important life skill? What are positive and negative consequences of budgeting/not budgeting?

2. Budget Game! Budget = income and spending plan
You will each create a budget based on real-life incomes and costs.
For this budget game, you are 25 years old.
You will experience unexpected life events as we go along.
Will you have enough money by the end?

3. Sheets Instructions Open my email with the “TP 11 Budget” sheet link.
MAKE A COPY of the budget document and put YOUR first and last name in the title: “Sarah Nichols Budget”
CLOSE the original document so you don’t accidentally change it.
You must the link to all students before class begins. They will all need their computers for today’s activity.

4. Income 1. Google the MEDIAN salary for a job you want.
2. Type it into the “Gross Yearly Salary” box at the bottom of your Budget Sheet
3. Type the “Monthly Net Salary” into each monthly “Income” box
Students must choose a job that they can get with, at most, a master’s degree. The budget sheet will calculate the net monthly salary automatically, based on a hypothetical taxation rate of 20%.
As they go through, they should ONLY add expenses for January. They may need to change certain things if they don’t have enough money.

5. Housing Where will you live? $450/month $650/month $550/month
2 bed, 2 bath with roommate
$650/month
1 bed, 1 bath by yourself
$550/month
Studio by yourself
Have students choose one of the above options for housing. You can imagine that these are houses or apartments to rent. Most likely, they will not be able to buy a house when they are 25, but if they do their mortgage would be probably around $900/month for a starter house. No students in this activity are allowed to put in $0 for housing and say they are living at home. While that might be an option for them, for this activity we are promoting independence.

6. Housing By Yourself Split with a Roommate Gas/Heating $20/month
Electricity
$50/month
$25/month
Renter’s Insurance
Cable/Internet
If cable TV AND internet:
$80/month
If JUST internet:
$46/month
$40/month
$23/month
A few things aren’t optional in housing. You really do have to have heating, electricity, and insurance. Most people, especially younger adults and those in school, make good internet service a high priority. The choice you can make on this list is whether or not you have a roommate and whether or not you want cable/satellite TV. If you plan on just using your computer or a streaming device to watch TV, you can choose the “just internet” option.

7. Personal Vehicle- Used Public Transportation
How will you get to school/work/social events?
Personal Vehicle- Used
Personal Vehicle- New
Vehicle Payment: $150/month
Vehicle Payment: $250/month
Vehicle Insurance:$40/month
Vehicle Insurance:
$75/month
Gas: $100/month
Registration: $11
Registration: $20
Maintenance: $50/month
Maintenance: $10/month
Public Transportation
No Disability: $84/month
Disability: $42/month
Though we know that it’s cheaper to have others drive you or to walk/bike, that’s not a great long-term solution, especially when working a regular job, being social, and going to school. For this budget, students can choose between a used vehicle, a new vehicle, and public transportation. Yearly costs (like registration) are broken down into monthly payments to make the budget a little easier.

8. Food Restaurants Groceries Thrifty Moderate Liberal $160/month
The groceries numbers were rounded and came from the Official USDA Food Plan report from April “Thrifty” plans would include lots of peanut butter and jelly or Ramen noodles with less fresh fruit and meat. Liberal plans would include lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat and/or treats like chips, soda, and ice cream. They are figured for one adult. The restaurant figures are based on $8/meal, which is a good average between a relatively cheap visit to McDonald’s and a trip to a sit-down restaurant like Texas Roadhouse. If a student is choosing to eat at restaurants more often, they can chose a cheaper grocery plan.
1x per week
3x per week
6x per week
$32/month
$96/month
$192/month

9. Entertainment/Activities
Fun/Communication
Cell Phone
Entertainment/Activities
Shopping
Thrifty
$15 (flip phone)
1 activity/month: $15-$59
$25
Moderate
$50 (smart phone with limited data)
4 activities/month: $60-$119
$100
Liberal
$60 (smart phone with 30unlimited data)
8 activities/month: $120-$250
$250
Cell Phone: These numbers include the price of leasing a smart phone.
Entertainment/Activities: This category includes any fun activities you might enjoy, like going to the movies, hiking, concerts, going out for ice cream, dates, etc. If you plan on spending more than $15 on each activity, you should choose the upper end of the scale that I’ve given. For example, if you like attending concerts and tickets are usually $50, use $50 as the “per activity” cost. Even usually “free” activities like hiking have costs, like the gear required or the extra gas to get to hiking locations.
Shopping: Video games, new shoes, new clothes, toys of all sorts, plungers, make-up… we have to buy things sometimes, so you have to spend at least $25/month. If you like shopping a lot (Target run, anyone?), you will spend closer to $250/month.

10. Health $80/month $3/month $0 $100/month $16/month $10 $40/month $60
Insurance
Doctor’s Visits
Prescriptions
No medical concerns
$80/month
$3/month $0
Some medical concerns
$100/month
$16/month
$10
Significant medical concerns
$40/month
$60
You will have to base this off of yourself in real life. If you don’t take prescriptions and only go to the doctor for check-ups (and the occasional cold), you can choose “no medical concerns.” If you visit the doctor for one medical issue a few times a year, choose “some” medical concerns. If you know that you have multiple or significant medical issues, like diabetes, ADHD, asthma, or significant mental health issues, you may want to choose “significant” medical concerns. If you take more than two medications daily, or know your medication is expensive, you can choose “some” or “significant” medical concerns.

11. Tech School or Associates
Personal Improvement
Gym Membership: $25
Optional! If you choose this, you can take $10 off of your monthly health insurance.
Savings: ???
If you have money left over after all your required spending, you should put it in savings! It’s a good idea to save as much as you can for emergencies or unexpected expenses.
School: You should choose the degree required for the job you chose. If your job does not require a degree after high school, you can put in $0 for this.
Tech School or Associates: $25/month to pay off your loans in 10 years. You can take $10 off this cost per month if you have all A’s and B’s.
Bachelor’s Degree: $167/month to pay off your loans in 10 years. You can take $50 off of this cost if you have all A’s and B’s to account for a small scholarship. You can take $80 off of this cost if you have all A’s but no outside activities. You can take $100 off of this cost if you have all A’s and some outside activities (clubs, sports, community involvement, etc.).
Master’s Degree: This includes the cost of a Bachelor’s degree as well. $250/month to pay off the student loan in 10 years. You can take You can take $50 off of this cost if you have all A’s and B’s to account for a small scholarship. You can take $80 off of this cost if you have all A’s but no outside activities. You can take $100 off of this cost if you have all A’s and some outside activities (clubs, sports, community involvement, etc.).
Tech School or Associates
Bachelor’s Degree
Master’s Degree
$25/month
(minus scholarships)
$167/month (minus scholarships)
$250/month

12. Review Check your budget! Overall Total: Did you have enough money?
If not, make changes!
Fun/Communication
Food
Transportation
Housing (add a roommate?)
Have students make adjustments as needed. Encourage them to put money into savings! Now, they can copy/paste expenses so that the whole document is full from January-December. It’s ok for them to leave something blank (gym membership, for example) if it doesn’t apply to them.

13. Play the Game! Every month: You roll the dice
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)
Break the students into groups of about 4 students. Provide each group with one die and a bowl with cut-out and folded-up “Budgeting Life Events.” If they run out of life events, they should put them all back into the bowl. Each month, every student will roll once.

14. January
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)
Walk through this month with the students, reminding them of the rules of the game (provided to the right of the picture). Be sure they are putting any Life Event income or costs in the “other” space in the right category.

15. February
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

16. March
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

17. April
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

18. May
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

19. June
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

20. Re-Evaluate!
Do you need to make any changes to your budget? Do so now!
Students should change their life choices, if needed. They can spend less money on Groceries (no less than $150/month), Restaurants, Gym Membership, Savings, Cell Phone, or get a roommate and split housing expenses (if they haven’t already).

21. July
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

22. August
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

23. September
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

24. October
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

25. November
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

26. December
1, 2, or 3: draw that many Life Events and adjust your budget according to what the Life Events say.
4: No action needed.
5 or 6: Draw one Life Event and give it to someone in your group (no peeking!)

27. Final Analysis
1. Did you have enough money each month, or did you go into the negatives some months? 2. What was your “Final Total”? 3. What would you do differently, if you did this activity again? 4. What was most frustrating and most fun about this activity? 5. What is one big lesson you will take away from today?
Have students discuss these questions as a group and/or as a whole class.

28. Share!
Before you leave, please share your Budget document with me!