Cars and Condos: Budgeting Income To Cover Expenses Lesson for Grades 8-12
Teach budgeting, income, and expenses with the “Cars and Condos: Budgeting Income to Cover Expenses” lesson.
There are two sides to a budget—income and expenses. When asked how to best balance a budget, people often respond by saying to reduce or eliminate expenses. In this lesson, students choose a car and a housing option and, using these expenses, determine if the income they earn from the occupation they’ve chosen will be sufficient when other expenses are added. If they determine it is insufficient, they seek ways they could increase the income side of the budget by improving their human capital.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define the concepts of expenses, human capital, income, and interest;
- identify a reputable online source for obtaining information about occupations;
- estimate whether income is sufficient to cover expenses; and
- describe additional human capital that can be developed to increase income in an occupation.
Essential Question
How can a budget be adjusted so that income covers expenses?
This lesson plan is designed for teaching grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
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