In this teacher resource, "Middle School Ontario Financial Literacy | Budgeting 101", students will choose a profession, calculate provincial and federal taxes, and budget their income using the 50/30/20 rule. This is a guided reading resource, meaning you can hand it to your students, and they should be able to follow the directions and complete the work independently. That said, I implore you to explore the talking points in this resource and have classroom conversations.
WHAT'S IN THIS RESOURCE?
This educational resource includes a guided reading on budgeting that covers various topics, including taxes, income, net income, savings, needs, wants, investments, interest, credit cards, renting vs. buying, and balancing lifestyles. It also includes an Excel spreadsheet of a monthly budget with self-creating graphs and an assignment where students must create their budget and explain their reasoning in a paragraph assignment.
MULTIPLE FORMATS
The resource includes success criteria, a circle graph chart with embedded links, and a rubric. It is also available in a fillable PDF form version for distance learning and has been updated to include a Google Sheets version.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL LITERACY
Budgeting is one of those things I wished we had spent more time on when I was in school. Thankfully, it's part of the curriculum, and educators are pushing this topic's importance. With a solid understanding of budgeting early on in life, children are more likely to succeed, at least at a financial level, as adults. This resource highlights the importance of paying off debt, saving long-term, and rethinking irrational, impulsive purchases. It discusses credit cards, income tax, and net income and uses the 50/30/20 rule to categorize spending into three groups: wants, needs, and savings.
Christ Arthur, the author of Financial Literacy Education, said it best.
"During the assault on public workers and collective economic risk management formations and practices (unions, public pensions, social security, etc.), consumer financial literacy education is promoted as an empowering individual solution to help consumers understand the complex and constantly changing financial marketplace. Without collective protection from market forces, financially literate workers and consumers are assumed to manage their increasingly individualized economic risk and provide for their financial needs (e.g. retirement, education, health care, etc.)."
Financial literacy is essential at many levels. Indeed, it is most important for individuals who must make complex and expensive financial decisions for themselves and their dependents. Wrong choices can cause great misery, and recent changes to the Federal bankruptcy statutes extend these consequences to a broader population. We must teach our students how to manage their money. Using this resource is a great start!
THIS RESOURCE INCLUDES
A guided reading on budgeting. (taxes, income, net income, savings, needs, wants, investments, interest, credit cards, renting vs. buying, balancing lifestyles, etc.
An Excel spreadsheet of a monthly budget with self-creating graphs
An assignment (budgeting) + paragraph assignment to explain their reasoning
Success criteria
Circle graph chart (with embedded links to help them create one)
A rubric
Fillable PDF form for distance learning
GOOGLE SHEETS ADDED 11/07/2022
Don't miss out on this valuable financial literacy resource for your grade 8 or middle school students – add it to your collection today!
EXPECTATIONS COVERED (VARY BY CURRICULUM AND GRADE)
Grade 8 Number Sense and Numeration:
A. Demonstrate an understanding of percentages greater than or equal to 0% and their relationship to fractions and decimals.
Grade 8 Financial Literacy:
A. Solve problems involving simple and compound interests and demonstrate an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different savings and investment options.
B. Solve problems involving income tax calculation and understand the purpose and use of tax brackets.
C. Develop a budget and monitor it to meet financial goals, considering various factors such as needs, wants, priorities, fixed and variable expenses, and potential sources of income.
Grade 8 Data Management and Probability:
A. Collect, organize, and display data using circle graphs to solve problems.
B. Determine the theoretical probability of an event and use it to make predictions about the outcome of an experiment.
If you're interested in exploring other financial literacy resources, check these out:
Financial Literacy - Living On Your Own + Assignments - Grades 7-9
Financial Literacy - Credit Cards and Loans 101 + Assignments - Grades 7-9