Financial Literacy: Budgeting and Saving
Build a budget, track spending, and plan savings goals
Financial Literacy: Budgeting and Saving
Build a budget, track spending, and plan savings goals
Financial Literacy - Grade 9-12
- 1
Maya earns $1,650 per month from a part-time job. Her monthly expenses are $650 for rent, $220 for food, $90 for transportation, $75 for phone service, and $140 for entertainment. How much money does she have left after these expenses?
Add all expenses first, then subtract the total from income.
Maya's total expenses are $1,175. She has $475 left because $1,650 - $1,175 = $475. - 2
A common budgeting guideline is the 50-30-20 rule: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings or debt repayment. If Jordan's monthly take-home pay is $2,400, how much should Jordan budget for each category using this rule?
Multiply $2,400 by 0.50, 0.30, and 0.20.
Jordan should budget $1,200 for needs, $720 for wants, and $480 for savings or debt repayment. - 3
Taylor wants to save $900 for a laptop in 6 months. How much should Taylor save each month to reach the goal on time?
Taylor should save $150 each month because $900 divided by 6 months equals $150 per month. - 4
Sofia currently saves $35 each week. How much will she save in 12 weeks if she does not withdraw any money?
Sofia will save $420 in 12 weeks because $35 times 12 equals $420. - 5
A student earns $14.50 per hour and works 18 hours in one week. If 12% of the student's gross pay is taken out for taxes, what is the student's take-home pay for the week?
Find gross pay first, then subtract 12% of that amount.
The student's gross pay is $261.00. Taxes are $31.32, so the take-home pay is $229.68. - 6
Look at this monthly budget: income is $1,200, needs are $760, wants are $310, and savings are $80. Is the budget balanced, in surplus, or in deficit? Explain.
The budget is in surplus. Total planned spending and saving is $1,150, so there is $50 left over because $1,200 - $1,150 = $50. - 7
Andre spends $6.75 on coffee every school day. If there are 20 school days in a month, how much does he spend on coffee in one month?
Multiply the daily cost by the number of days.
Andre spends $135.00 on coffee in one month because $6.75 times 20 equals $135.00. - 8
Andre decides to make coffee at home instead and spends $25 per month on supplies. Using the coffee cost from the previous problem, how much money does he save in one month?
Andre saves $110.00 in one month because $135.00 - $25.00 = $110.00. - 9
A bank account pays 3% simple interest per year. If Leah deposits $800 and leaves it in the account for 1 year, how much interest will she earn?
Simple interest for one year is principal times rate.
Leah will earn $24 in interest because $800 times 0.03 equals $24. - 10
Leah deposits $800 in an account that earns 3% annual interest compounded yearly. If she leaves the money for 2 years and makes no withdrawals, how much money will she have at the end of 2 years?
Leah will have $848.72 after 2 years. After year 1, the balance is $824.00, and after year 2, $824.00 times 1.03 equals $848.72. - 11
A student's emergency fund goal is to save 3 months of essential expenses. The student's essential expenses are $950 per month. How much should the student save for the emergency fund?
An emergency fund goal is based on essential expenses, not wants.
The student should save $2,850 because $950 times 3 months equals $2,850. - 12
Compare these two phone plans. Plan A costs $45 per month plus a one-time $60 activation fee. Plan B costs $55 per month with no activation fee. Which plan costs less over 12 months, and by how much?
Include the one-time fee only once.
Plan A costs $600 over 12 months because $45 times 12 plus $60 equals $600. Plan B costs $660 because $55 times 12 equals $660. Plan A costs $60 less. - 13
Nia's monthly income is $1,800. She wants to save at least 15% of her income each month. What is the minimum amount she should save monthly?
Nia should save at least $270 each month because $1,800 times 0.15 equals $270. - 14
A class trip costs $540. Carlos already saved $180 and can save $45 each week. How many more weeks will he need to save enough money for the trip?
Subtract what he already saved before dividing by the weekly savings amount.
Carlos needs 8 more weeks. He still needs $360 because $540 - $180 = $360, and $360 divided by $45 equals 8. - 15
The bar graph shows a student's monthly spending: food $280, transportation $120, entertainment $160, clothing $90, and subscriptions $50. Which category should the student review first if the goal is to reduce nonessential spending, and why?
The student should review entertainment first because it is the largest likely nonessential category at $160. Reducing the largest flexible expense can make the biggest difference in the budget.