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Curriculum › Grades 6-8 › Life Skills & Career Paths

Building a Monthly Budget That Works

  • Grades 6-8
  • Life Skills & Career Paths
  • JS:FD-7
  • Money & Banking
  • Free lesson

Aligned to JS:FD-7 — Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education & Advance CTE Career Clusters.

What this lesson teaches

A budget lists the money you expect to receive and every place it has to go, before the month starts. Fixed costs stay the same each month; variable costs change. When income minus expenses is negative, the budget is telling you something true and early.

Worked examples

Example 1

Income $400. Fixed: phone $30, bus pass $40. Variable: food $120, fun $60. Savings $100. Total out $350, leaving $50 of margin.

Example 2

Fixed costs are the dangerous ones because they repeat whether or not you can afford them that month. A $60 subscription is $720 a year.

Example 3

Track one month of actual spending before you budget. Almost everyone guesses their food and 'small stuff' spending 30-50% too low.

Practice questions

  1. Build a monthly budget for $500 of income with at least 5 categories.
  2. Sort five of your household's expenses into fixed and variable.
  3. Your budget comes out $75 short. Name two realistic fixes.

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 lesson

En español

Armar un presupuesto mensual que funcione

Un presupuesto lista el dinero que esperas recibir y cada lugar a donde tiene que ir, antes de que empiece el mes. Los gastos fijos son iguales cada mes; los variables cambian. Cuando el ingreso menos los gastos sale negativo, el presupuesto te está diciendo algo cierto y a tiempo.

Ejemplo 1: Ingreso $400. Fijos: teléfono $30, pase de autobús $40. Variables: comida $120, diversión $60. Ahorro $100. Salidas $350, con $50 de margen.

Ejemplo 2: Los gastos fijos son los peligrosos porque se repiten puedas pagarlos o no ese mes. Una suscripción de $60 son $720 al año.

Ejemplo 3: Registra un mes de gastos reales antes de presupuestar. Casi todos calculan su gasto en comida y 'cositas' entre 30 y 50% por debajo.

More Money & Banking lessons

Checking Accounts and Debit CardsJS:SS-3How to Write a CheckJS:SS-4Endorsing a Check and Reading a Bank StatementJS:SS-5Emergency Funds and Compound InterestJS:SS-6

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