Teaching personal finance to high school students

Teaching personal finance to high school students & 9 financial games to try, Managing finances tips, Higher education

Teaching Personal Finance and 9 Financial Games to Try

22 Sep 2021

Teaching personal finance to high school students

Financial management is a crucial skill that a person usually learns with experience. More often than not, this skill is not taught in schools. And when the students enroll in higher education, they suddenly become responsible for managing finances on their own.

Figuring everything out when the budget is limited does not result in well-handled finances for students. This is why teachers should take it upon themselves to teach their students personal finance before college.

If you have made up your mind to inculcate this skill in your student, this article will help you decide how you can go about it.

What Should Be Your Approach?

Theoretical knowledge doesn’t come in handy when it’s time for some real-life adventure. So, teaching them this skill with bookish stuff wouldn’t be a good idea. The best way to help your student learn all about personal finance management is by putting them in real-life scenarios and letting them make decisions under your guidance.

How to Teach Personal Finance to Students?

Practical learning is the best option for students at this stage. Here are some ideas for you.

Budget Allocation

This is the basic step of personal finance. A person should know how much money they have. Initially, for college, parents bear the expenses for their kids (except, in some rare cases, students take up the responsibility on themselves). Some students might later choose to have a part-time job to earn some side income.

You can give a list of questions to your students to get them answered by their parents. Your questions may include how much budget they think they will afford after high school, the pocket money they plan on handing over to the kids, and what age is ideal for them to let their kid move out.

This form will give the parents a chance to think about all of it if they haven’t planned on it yet. It will also give students a slight insight into what budget they can expect. Now, when they have a certain idea of their prospective budgets, you can move on to giving some practical assignments.

Finding an Apartment for Rent

This is an essential task the students will have to endure. For this homework assignment, they will have to arrange apartment visits. They can let an adult accompany them if they are below 18.

Calling a broker or agency, calculating monthly cost, the initial total cost of moving in, and comparing rents and facilities are some elements of this assignment that you should include. The outcome of the assignment would be a decision based on all the aspects.

You can then review their choices and guide them accordingly.

Budget Management

The next aspect of living on their own is managing other essential and non-essential expenses while staying within the budget. Your assignment can have students list down all the expenses they deem essential for living.

In addition, you can ask them to note down not-so-essential things they would like to spend on, such as room decor, eating in a fancy restaurant, or having a gaming console. They may also include spending on an essayservice.com for future assignments after discussing with senior students.

Now, they will have to get the costs of all the items in the list and see what their budget allows and what it does not.

This cost calculation will also help them understand what kind of lifestyle they would be able to afford after school. It might as well come as a surprise for many. You can assist them in making up their mind for a side job to support their lifestyle or planning a lifestyle to live within the means.

Additional Expenses

All of the above scenarios are for an ideal world. But real life comes with uncertain challenges and emergencies that may require funds. When your students are aware of all kinds of budgeting to support their future lives, you can include these sudden setbacks such as an injury, increased prices of commodities, or repair work at the apartment.

Let your students decide how to manage the cost in such a scenario and have them write it down. This is where you can introduce the importance of savings. Your students will have to reorganize their expenses to make room for fixed savings every month.

You should also introduce taxes, banking, and credit cards at this point. Teaching them about taxes early is crucial as even adults struggle a lot to understand this part of life. You will help them decide when they are ready to handle credit cards by teaching them about credits and credit cards.

9 Financial Games for Students

In addition to practical lessons, you can recommend financial games to your students. These games are designed to equip you with tools, sometimes even customizable, to help them learn this skill effectively. To be honest, games are a fun way to learn.

Here are some exciting financial management games.

  1. Claim Your Future
  2. Jumpstart’s Reality Check
  3. Shady Sam
  4. Payback
  5. Hit the Road
  6. Money Magic
  7. Finance 101
  8. Spent
  9. The Bean Game

These games are focused on teaching students the value of budgeting and saving. In different situations, they are forced to make choices based on which further stimulation will take place. You can even incorporate these games into your online classes.

Teaching personal finance to high school students Takeaway

Financial literacy is one of the most important parts of education. Teaching personal finance at the right time will save students from many obstacles in life and help them handle hurdles effectively. You can choose your way of teaching them the skill as long as you achieve the aim.

Comments on this Teaching Personal Finance to High School Students & 9 Financial Games article are welcome.

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