---
title: "Pricing So the Numbers Work"
description: "A price has to cover what each item costs to make and leave something over, and it has to be one people will pay. Break-even is where those two facts meet."
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/pricing-so-the-numbers-work-mt_m4DGdFIm5h
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/pricing-so-the-numbers-work-mt_m4DGdFIm5h.md
retrieved: 2026-09-12
---

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# Pricing So the Numbers Work

A price has to cover what each item costs to make and leave something over, and it has to be one people will pay. Break-even is where those two facts meet.

Subject: Life Skills · Area: Entrepreneurship · Ages 12 to 13
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/pricing-so-the-numbers-work-mt_m4DGdFIm5h

## Ready when they can

- Work out the cost of making one unit, including the parts people forget
- Calculate how many units must sell to cover a fixed setup cost
- Explain why cutting the price to sell more can leave you worse off

## Lesson: Price it so the numbers work

A price sits where two facts meet. Costs set the floor, because selling below cost on every unit can never be fixed by volume. Customers set the ceiling, because nobody pays more than the value they see. Your price must live between them.

**Example.** Say wristbands cost $3 each to make, including the string and the clasp people forget. You sell them at $5. The margin on one unit is 5 minus 3, which is $2. If your stall fee was $100, divide 100 by 2: you must sell 50 wristbands before you earn a cent.

That sales number has a name: break-even, where profit hits exactly zero. First add up the fixed setup cost, the money spent before selling a single unit. Then divide it by the margin on one unit. The result is the units you must sell.

**Tip.** Cutting the price to sell more can leave you worse off. At $4 a wristband the margin shrinks to $1, so break-even doubles to 100 units. More sales, same stall, less money. Never cut without redoing the division.

**Recap.** Cover the unit cost, keep a margin, and divide the fixed cost by that margin to find break-even.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Finding Out If Anyone Wants It](https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/finding-out-if-anyone-wants-it-mt_99X6saJ6Kt)
- [Costs & Revenue](https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/costs-and-revenue-mt_9gpUHWVKMR)

## Opens up

- [Doing It Right When Nobody Is Watching](https://lightmysky.com/learn/life-skills/doing-it-right-when-nobody-is-watching-mt_MViH0gLbvQ)