HSFPP Home > Students > Unit 2 – Budgeting

Unit 2 Budgeting: Making the Most of Your Money
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Unit Competency and Objectives

Unit Overview: This outlines what you will learn in this unit and a way to track your progress on assignments and the assessment.

Student Learning Plan: Use this learning plan to track which learning activities you have accomplished through the unit.

Exercises

Exercise 2A: How Do You Spend Your Money?
You will use your spending log from Assignment 1-3 to draw a pie chart that shows how you spend your money.

Exercise 2B: Values and Spending Chart
Exercise 2B (Parts 1 and 2)
What choices would you make if you were provided $50 to spend? This exercise asks you to think about how you would spend that money.

Exercise 2C: What Type of Expense Is It?
Are your expenses fixed, variable, or periodic? You categorize different expenses in this exercise to find out the answer.

Exercise 2D: Saving to Meet Goals
You help two families, the Simpsons and the Mencias, figure how much they need to save to reach their goals.

Exercise 2E: Jessica's Budget Needs Adjusting
Remember Jessica from Assignment 2-4? Now she needs your help to adjust her budget according to recent changes in her situation.

Assignments

Assignment 2-1: How Am I Doing?
Required Criteria
You check out your spending log from Unit 1 to see how your spending matches up with your financial goals.

Assignment 2-2: My Fixed and Variable Expenses
Required Criteria
Once again, you use your spending log from Unit 1 to make a list of your personal fixed, variable, and periodic expenses.

Assignment 2-3: Saving for My Goals
Required Criteria
Take a look at the financial plan you created in Unit 1 to figure out how much you need to save weekly and monthly to meet your SMART goals.

Assignment 2-4: Build a Budget
Required Criteria
This time, you help Jessica create a personal budget, making sure her expenses don't go over her income.

Assessment

Assessment 2-1: My Personal Budget
Required Criteria
You use what you have learned in Unit 2 to put together your own weekly or monthly budget.

Optional Activities

In the Instructor's Manual, teachers are provided “optional activities” to supplement your learning. Not all teachers will have time to have you complete in class. In case you are interested in expanding your knowledge a bit more, check out the optional activities below. Once you complete an activity, you mind need to check your answers with your teacher. They have a copy of the answer keys.

• You will check out how you manage your money by participating in the Budget Busters activity handed out by your teacher.
• You will think about the consequences of saving or spending by evaluating the scenarios in the What If? Handout provided by your teacher.
• You will help Tom understand the information on his pay stub, which is provided in the Analyzing a Pay Stub handout provided by your teacher.
• You'll take a look at sample budgets used by individuals, small and large businesses, and nonprofit groups.
• You'll use your new budgeting skills to prepare a budget for a school service project or club.
• You'll take a look at software used to organize financial information.
• You'll interview your mom, dad, aunt, or other adult to find out about strategies he or she uses to keep track of income and spending.
• You'll work by yourself or with another student to complete the Unit 2 Success Street Sweep activity on the HSFPP Web site.

Supplementary Materials

There are some handouts which “supplement” what you are learning in the curriculum. Your teacher has some in the Instructor's Manual. But, if you are curious – explore.

Taking It Home

For Students:

1. You'll take home and read a newsletter article to learn about budgets and the value of using them.
2. You'll ask your parents what strategies they use to manage spending as well as the lessons they have learned.

For Parents:

1. You'll read the newsletter article your teen brings home from school about budgets and the value of using them.
2. You'll talk with your teen about the strategies you use to manage spending and the lessons you have learned in this area.

Links

Below are helpful resources related to this unit.