Price, Unit Price, and Getting a Good Deal
Aligned to JS:FD-1 — Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education & Advance CTE Career Clusters.
What this lesson teaches
The cheapest package is not always the cheapest deal. Unit price — the cost for one ounce, one pound, or one item — is what lets you compare two sizes honestly. Most store shelf tags print it in small type right under the price.
Worked examples
Example 1
A 12 oz bag of rice costs $3.00 ($0.25/oz). A 32 oz bag costs $6.40 ($0.20/oz). The big bag costs more but is the better deal per ounce.
Example 2
The bigger size is not automatically better. Sometimes the small size is on sale and beats the big one that week.
Example 3
A deal is only a deal if you were going to buy it anyway. Two for $5 on something you do not need costs you $5, not saves you.
Practice questions
- Find two sizes of the same product and work out each unit price.
- Which is the better buy: 6 rolls for $4.20 or 12 for $9.00?
- Explain why 'buy two, get one free' is not always saving money.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Precio, precio unitario y encontrar una buena oferta
El paquete más barato no siempre es la mejor compra. El precio unitario — lo que cuesta una onza, una libra o una pieza — es lo que te deja comparar dos tamaños honestamente. La mayoría de las etiquetas de la tienda lo imprimen en letra chica debajo del precio.
Ejemplo 1: Una bolsa de arroz de 12 oz cuesta $3.00 ($0.25/oz). Una de 32 oz cuesta $6.40 ($0.20/oz). La bolsa grande cuesta más pero conviene más por onza.
Ejemplo 2: El tamaño grande no es automáticamente mejor. A veces el tamaño chico está en oferta y gana esa semana.
Ejemplo 3: Una oferta solo es oferta si de todos modos ibas a comprarlo. Dos por $5 de algo que no necesitas te cuesta $5, no te ahorra.
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