Save, Spend, Give: Splitting Your Money
Aligned to JS:SS-1 — Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education & Advance CTE Career Clusters.
What this lesson teaches
When money arrives, deciding where it goes before you spend any of it is what keeps you from wondering later where it went. A common split is some to save, some to spend now, and some to give. The exact shares matter less than deciding them on purpose.
Worked examples
Example 1
You earn $10. You put $5 in savings, keep $4 to spend, and set $1 aside to give. The decision is made once, at the start.
Example 2
If you spend first and save whatever is left, there is usually nothing left. Saving first is the whole trick.
Example 3
Giving can be money, but it can also be time. Helping at a food drive counts, and it costs nothing.
Practice questions
- Split $20 into save, spend and give. Explain your shares.
- Why does saving first work better than saving last?
- Name one thing you would give to and why.
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
Ahorrar, gastar, dar: repartir tu dinero
Cuando llega el dinero, decidir a dónde va antes de gastar nada es lo que evita que después te preguntes en qué se fue. Una división común es algo para ahorrar, algo para gastar ahora y algo para dar. Las cantidades exactas importan menos que decidirlas a propósito.
Ejemplo 1: Ganas $10. Pones $5 en ahorros, te quedas $4 para gastar y apartas $1 para dar. La decisión se toma una vez, al principio.
Ejemplo 2: Si gastas primero y ahorras lo que sobra, normalmente no sobra nada. Ahorrar primero es todo el truco.
Ejemplo 3: Dar puede ser dinero, pero también tiempo. Ayudar en una colecta de alimentos cuenta y no cuesta nada.
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