How Do I Make a Plan to Get What I Want?

Transcription

1 Back To The Budget Budget For What You Want Brought to you by

2 This Activity Answers The Question... PAGE 2 How Do I Make a Plan to Get What I Want? WE LIVE IN A WORLD where we can get almost anything we want anytime we want it. It s called immediate gratification. We can even quickly go into debt if we do not have a plan for how we spend and grow our money. What children often do not hear or understand are the invisible decisions that adults make when they decide yes or no on a purchase and why. We need to make visible this invisible decision-making by showing and making a budget with children. Ultimately a budget is a plan that acts as a helpful tool to help a person live the life they want to live. Why is this important? It s important because without a plan goals will be hard to reach. A budget is all about setting goals and managing your money (what money goes in and what money goes out) so that you can reach the goals that are uniquely yours! What happens when a child wants something and when they ask mom and dad they say, Do you have enough money for it? And then what happens if your child wants two or three things now and also wants to have money left to buy something big in the future like a car or college? How do you help them make these choices for themselves and possibly have it all? Make a plan and follow it!

3 Music Video: Back To The Budget Story PAGE 3 Cha-Ching are off on a 2-week tour with gigs in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Jakarta lined up. Prudence leads the band in working out a budget for the trip. With a $1000 starting budget they research prices of transport, accommodation, food and extra expenses they need for their first city. They budget modestly and their Kuala Lumpur gig goes really well as they receive $500 in income. However the band gets carried away with their success and they forget all about the budget for their Bangkok gig, blowing money on expensive hotels, cars, food and frivolous souvenirs. Disaster strikes as the venue is invaded by a troop of cheeky monkeys who wreak the stage and the gig is cancelled. They go back to the budget and realise they have massively over spent, $1000 in expenses leaving them only $300 as a budget for their remaining two gigs in Ho Chi Minh and Jakarta. Prudence takes them through a new budget where they must travel cheaply, stay in budget accommodation, eat very basic food and make sure to not spend any money on anything that is a want rather than a need. They manage to stick to this budget and the Ho Chi Minh gig is a success. They receive $400 giving them a $650 budget going into their last gig in Jakarta. They have finally learned their lesson as they make a modest budget and stick to it. Their final gig is a big success, a sell out in fact and they receive $700 in fees. This leaves them with a profit of $50 for the tour, however they could have made a lot more money had they not forgotten to budget in Bangkok. Cha-Ching have learned the importance of making a budget and sticking to it.

4 Do-Together Activity PAGE 4 DISCUSS CREATE REVIEW Start this activity by watching this music video. Then ask the question and discuss with your child(ren): Do you know what a budget is? What is it? How does a budget work? Why do you think it would be helpful to make a budget? Next: gather magazines or anything with pictures that can be cut out and glued or taped onto the attached printable budget(s) (see page ). and complete the following Budget Challenges 1) Create 3 s: Cut out pictures of things of varying prices that you want or need to buy. Choose three. Write them in the goals section. Then glue the picture to the form attached. 2) Determine an amount of time it will take to accomplish reaching this goal. 3) Expenses: Cut out pictures of things that you spend money on in life. Choose at least five of them and place them on your budget. In addition, add at least one Just In Case expense. Write the cost next to each picture. 4) Income: Cut out pictures that show how you earn money in your life. Choose at least one of the pictures that you cut out and place it on your budget. Write the amount that you would earn from this income. Now that you have created three different budgets with differing starting goals, amounts of money and end goals answer the following questions together: What choices did you have to make in order to reach your goal(s)? What is the hardest part about reaching your goal(s)? Now that you have reached your goal can you buy anything else? How? Do you see now how making a budget can help you make better choices to help you get what you want?

5 Challenge 1: How do you get what you want? Expenses Time to Reach : Food Total Starting Budget: $0 Income Just in case Total Expenses $ Total Income $ Total Total Starting Budget - Total Expenses +Total Income Total Total $

6 Challenge 2: How do you get what you want and end up with $0? Expenses Time to Reach : Food Total Starting Budget: $100 Income Just in case Total Expenses $ Total Income $ Total Total Starting Budget - Total Expenses +Total Income Total Total $ 0

7 Challenge 3: How do you get what you want and end up with $100? Expenses Time to Reach : Food Total Starting Budget: $50 Income Just in case Total Expenses $ Total Income $ Total Total Starting Budget - Total Expenses +Total Income Total Total $ 100

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