A month plan that teaches you

Life Skills · Money & Finance · ages 14-15

Name ______________________ Date ____________

A budget should carry a buffer line for surprises you did not predict.
Circle one: True False
Rent stays the same and food spending changes. Which is fixed and which is variable?
- Rent fixed, food variable
- Food fixed, rent variable
- Both fixed
What is the starting number a budget needs?
- The price of one big wish
- Real monthly income after deductions
- Last year total spending
That 15 miss on a 50 plan is what percent of the plan? Type the number.
Answer: ______________
Plan said 50 for groceries, actual was 65. How many dollars off was the plan? Type the number.
Answer: ______________
At month end the plan and actual differ. What is that gap?
- Failure that proves budgets never work
- Information showing which numbers to adjust
- A reason to hide the receipts
A learner scraps each budget and starts fresh monthly, repeating the same misses. What should change?
- Plan bigger wishes each month
- Track spending less often
- Adjust the missed lines using last month gap
Two lines both missed by 15: groceries planned at 50, rent at 1000. Which needs fixing first?
- Rent, because rent is bigger
- Neither, since both missed equally
- Groceries, because 15 on 50 is 30 percent

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

True · One surprise without a buffer breaks the whole month.
Rent fixed, food variable · Fixed never moves month to month; variable shifts with choices.
Real monthly income after deductions · Real income after deductions is the money you truly have.
30 · Divide 15 by 50 and multiply by 100 to get 30.
15 · Subtract plan from actual: 65 minus 50 is 15.
Information showing which numbers to adjust · The gap names the lines to fix next month.
Adjust the missed lines using last month gap · Carry the gap forward instead of guessing from scratch.
Groceries, because 15 on 50 is 30 percent · Percents, not cash, show which miss truly matters.