Welcome to the money management section. All the information and workshops in this section was researched and developed by Julia Drew and Brittany Slauenwhite.

The following lesson plan and all the materials can be downloaded for printing and sharing. Please credit HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development and the Lunenburg District Office of Community Services, Nova Scotia when using the materials. If you use these materials please let us know so we can track where they are being used. If you have any suggestions for changes please let us know.

Future Start Lesson Plan: Money Management

Created by Julia Drew and Brittany Slauenwhite

Part 1: Icebreaker & Needs & Wants Activity

Objectives:

For participants to get to know each other
For participants to understand the difference between their needs and their wants

Approximate time:

15 minutes

Materials, props or technology; room set up

Horse-shoe of chairs
A white board or flip chart
Money question cards (print from website)
Box for question cards
Markers
Post-it notes

Workshop Details and Script

1. Introduction and Ice Breaker

Facilitator:
How are you all today? My name is _____. Today we are going to learn about money management.
But first, I would like to get your juices flowing to start thinking about money managment. What I would like you to do is take a card out of the box. You will then introduce yourselves, read your question on your card out loud and then answer it.

Pass around box with question cards.

Participants introduce themselves and answer questions.

2. Needs and Wants Activity

Facilitator:
I’m going to pass out 6 sticky notes each, please write out anything that you have bought in the last week, please only write one item on each sticky note. If you can’t remember last week, then the past couple days is fine.

Wait until participants stop writing, then write NEEDS on one side of the white board and WANTS on the other side. Draw a vertical line between the two.

Facilitator invites the group to put post-it notes on the board under the category that makes sense for what they wrote.

Facilitator:
Okay, come on up and put your sticky notes where you think they belong.

Participants put notes up on board.

3. Group Discussion

Facilitator selects a few from each category to have a discussion on them. There will likely be some that fall on the line, or some that may seem in the other category. It is important not to judge where people put them, but have a discussion on why we feel they should belong here or there.

Ask questions like:

Why does this one fit here?
Are there some you would disagree with? Why?
If you spend money on your wants first, what will happen?
Why is it important to be able to have your needs met and have some of your wants too?
If you are living on a budget, how do you balance your needs and wants?

Part 2: Budget Scenario

Objectives:

To get people to think about monthly budgeting
To work with a simple budget sheet

Approximate time:

10-15 minutes

Materials, props or technology; room set up

Chairs in a circle
Chalk board and chalk or white board
Budget Sheet handouts (print from website)

Workshop Details and Script

1. Budget Scenario Read off this scenario to participants:

You are a 19 year old moving out on your own for the first time, you rent an apartment in town, you are out of school, you are single, have no children or no pets, you have a car, you have a job that pays minimum wage and you work 5 days a week 8 hour days, on average you earn $1500 monthly.

2. Budget Chart:

Make a T chart on the white board and label one side “Bills” and the other side “Extras”

3. Group Generates Bills:

Ask participants what they think a 19 year old living independently would have for monthly bills and then ask how much to budget for each bill. Keep in mind to be realistic on your costs and use the opportunity to have a discussion on how much things would cost in real life so they have something to think about before they live independently.

Write down the information they give you on board under the Bills column.

If the group has a difficult time knowing the costs of things, here are some suggested monthly costs for bills:

Rent $600-$700
Water $50
Power $200
Heat $150
Car Payment $100-200
Gasoline $160
Insurance $70
Cell phone $50
Personal Care $100
Medical $100
Food $200-$400

4. Group Generates Extras:

Ask participants what they think a 19 year old might want for extras in their life? Again be realistic on costs.

Write these up on the board under the Extras column

Some suggested monthly costs for extras are:

Entertainment $100
Alcohol $40-$50
Fast Food $50-$100
Movies $20-$30
Videogames $5-$50
Clothes $50-$150
Electronics $50-$75

5. Group Discussion:

Add up the monthly bills and extras and compare this to monthly earning and if you are in debt or have savings at the end of every month.

Part 3: Money-Opoly

Objectives:

To learn to make critical decisions when shopping
To experience, in a fun way, how unexpected expenses can impact how we spend and save money

Approximate time:

You can play this as long as time allows, or until one person goes once around the board. It could be played for 10-20 minutes or longer.

Materials, props or technology; room set up

Money-opoly board (print game board, pay/collect cards from website)
Items for player pieces
Money for game (print 5 pages of each money denomination off website and cut)

Workshop Details and Script

1. Game Rules:

Five people can play individually, or pairs can also play which increases discussion and decision making
Each player starts with $500 and a player piece on the FutureStart logo
Banker (facilitator) will collect money from bills and purchases throughout the game
Red, orange, yellow, blue and purple squares are items you can buy
You can buy as many of that one item as you want
When you land on a green money symbol, you select a card from the middle of the board, read it out loud and do as the card says.
Always pay your bills and purchases to your banker.
The banker is responsible to give and collect money and make change if necessary.
Every time you pass the FutureStart logo you receive $100 and it’s the next month
You lose when you go bankrupt (have no money left)
You win if you have the most money left after everyone else is out