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Lesson plan · Grades 9-12 · 50 minutes

First Apartment Budget

I can build a monthly budget from a real paycheck, weigh needs and wants, and use savings and credit wisely when surprises hit.

▶ Open the tool Download the tool
Standard
NSPFE.Spending NSPFE-2021
Shape
Explore first
Grouping
Individuals on devices, then pairs to compare.
You need
The tool on student devices and the projector. A class code written on the board (any word, like PERIOD3).
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/first-apartment-budget/
  1. Hook5 min
  2. Explore20 min
  3. Make sense10 min
  4. Apply10 min
  5. Exit check5 min

Before class

  • Pick a class code so everyone gets the same surprises. Same code and same plan means the same events.
  • Decide on a challenge for everyone, or let students choose. Paycheck to paycheck and Big city, small budget make strong first runs.
  • This is a simulation for learning, not financial advice. Rents come from HUD, pay from BLS, and taxes are simplified.

Hook 5 min

  1. "Your first job pays $18 an hour. How much rent can you afford?" Take guesses.
  2. "Most people guess wrong, because the paycheck is smaller than the pay. Let's find out by living a year."

Explore 20 min

  1. Students open Plan, pick a challenge, then a city, a job, a home, furniture, a way to get to work and benefits. The paycheck updates with every choice.
  2. Students read the gauges: housing against the 30% guideline, and needs, wants and saving against the 50/30/20 rule. They adjust until the verdict box says the plan holds together.
  3. Students type the class code and press Move in.
  4. In Live the year, students press Live July and decide how to pay for each surprise: checking, savings or the credit card. They can change groceries, eating out and auto-save between months. Fast speeds up the days.

Make sense 10 min

  1. Pause the class around month six. "What share of your gross pay went to housing? Who added a roommate? What changed?"
  2. "Which surprise hurt most? Would an emergency fund or insurance have changed it?"
  3. Look at the paycheck as a class: gross pay, taxes, Social Security and Medicare, 401(k), health premium, take-home.

Apply 10 min

  1. Students finish the year and open Report. It grades the year out of 100.
  2. Pairs with the same challenge compare reports. "Which single decision made the biggest difference?"
  3. Discuss: "A frugal year with no fun scores poorly on Life. A fun year with a maxed card scores poorly on Debt. What does balance look like?"

Exit check 5 min

On a card: "Your take-home pay is $2,400 a month. Using 50/30/20, how much goes to needs, wants and saving? Name one surprise from your year and how you'd plan for it next time."

Support and stretch

  • Support: start with Free play and a short commute, and focus on the 30% housing gauge.
  • Support: pause after each month and talk through one decision with a partner.
  • Stretch: try The car question and compare a bus commute, an old car and a financed car.
  • Stretch: "Is a big tax refund good news?" Find the tax-time card's answer and explain it.

Short on time

  • Build a plan in Plan to a passing verdict (12 min).
  • Live three months in Live the year (10 min), then the exit card (5 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.