Lesson 4 - Budgeting
Introduction
In this lesson you will:
learn about budgets
create a budget
think about your financial future.
Activity 1 - What is a budget?
A budget is an estimate of income and spending for some period of time.
Source: Maths is Fun website
Having a budget helps you to feel in control of your money. You can put aside money for big bills when they arrive, and plan savings to achieve your money goals.
First, work out why you want to do a budget. This can help you to decide where you want your money to go. Ask yourself: what is my goal? It could be to stay on top of bills, save for emergencies, pay for your children’s education, or save for a holiday or a house deposit.
Having a clear picture of your regular expenses and spending habits will help you set up your budget. To do this, track your spending over a week, a fortnight, or a month.
Source: Moneysmart website
Task 1 - Watch the video
Click on the image to visit the Teenage Boss page on the ABC iView website.
Watch the video Series 1 Episode 3 Ula.
Task 2 - The budget game
Play The Budget Game to see how you go managing your money for three months.
Click on the image to visit the Budget Game page on the Ulster Bank website.
Note: Use either currency and think of them as dollars.
Activity 2 - How to set up a budget
Let’s now have a go at putting a budget together using your current earning and spending habits.
What is your budget goal? Example, saving for a new bike, musical instrument, new phone, etc
Use the instructions in the Google Slide and the Online budget planner from Moneysmart to list all your income and expenses.
You can use an MS Excel version or complete directly on the website. (You can print your budget directly from the website to send to your teacher.)
You will need to place your expenses into different categories in the table and add them up. Example, if you spent $10 on a bracelet, $30 on a shirt and $15 on a new pair of thongs, you would need to add up these amounts, $55 and place them in the category clothing and shoes.
Activity 3 - Five years from now
Where do you want to be 5-10 years into the future? Where will you be working/studying?
Will you be living at home?
Married?
Children?
Task 1 - 5 years from now
Choose a job you wish to have 5-10 years into the future.
Find out what your income will be for this job, based on your age and qualifications in 5-10 years’ time.
Make a list of expenses you will be paying, based on the scenario you have chosen. This might include (but is not limited to) rent/mortgage, internet bills, electricity, water, council rates, groceries, mobile phone, car insurance, entertainment, other living expenses.
Discuss this with your family to get an accurate picture of the cost of these living expenses.
Resources for Task 1
To complete Task 1, you can access the myfuture website.
Log in with your NSW Department of Education student details.
Use this site to explore occupations and different industries while you research details about pay rates, working hours and conditions.
You can also access the Pay Calculator page on the Fair Work Ombudsmen website.
This will provide you with more information on penalty rates and allowances.
Definitions: If you have money left over, your budget is in surplus. If you are spending more than you earn, your budget is in deficit.
Task 2 - Preparing a budget
Create a budget using the Online budget planner from the Moneysmart website.
(Note: If you saved your budget from Activity 2, you need to click on the 3 dots to open settings menu and select Create a new budget.)
The budget should include your income, tax, and any expenses you identified in Task 1.
You may need to research some costs, such as the cost of renting a property, common household bill etc.
Convert all your income and expenses into weekly amounts.
Use your budget to explore the following scenarios and write out your answers to the questions in your exercise book of folder:
How much are you saving each week?
Are you spending more than you are saving?
What do you spend most of your money on?
Why might a budget like this be useful for you?
After you finish using the Online budget planner you will receive the following information:
Optional activity - Test your knowledge
This pair matching game contains key definitions from all the lessons from this week. Can you match each term with its definition?
Activities too hard?
Investigate earning money in the gig economy by playing The Uber Game by the Financial Times. You will need to make financial decisions whist driving an Uber to earn income and pay your expenses.
Explore your understanding of budgeting and purchasing by completing these activities in Stage 4 Maths Week E Lesson 2 - Best Buys.
Activities too easy?
Task 1 - Graphing your budget
Complete the task on creating a sector graph (pie chart) using the Google Doc.
Click on the button to open the activity and then use the template button to create a copy of the Google Doc.
Task 2 - The budget game again
Play The Budget Game on the Ulster Bank website again, but this time on hard difficulty!
Handing in your work
Don't forget to hand in the work you completed today!
Your teacher will have told you to do one of the following:
Upload any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your Learning Management system (MS Teams, Google Classroom for example).
Email any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your teacher.
Make sure you keep any hand written work you did in your exercise book or folder as your teacher may need to see these when you are back in class.