What are my spending habits?
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Introduction
Students learn to use spending diaries to work out how they spend their money and whether their spending habits are regular payments, needs or wants. This provides a solid foundation for them to establish good habits for money management.
From a superannuation perspective, this activity provides a foundation for understanding the role of saving to achieve long-term goals.
This activity contributes to the following outcomes.
A student:
- applies consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and employment concepts and terminology in a variety of contexts COM5-1
- analyses key factors affecting decisions COM5-4
- evaluates options for solving problems and issues COM5-5
- develops and implements plans designed to achieve goals COM5-6
- researches and assesses information using a variety of sources COM5-7
- explains information using a variety of forms COM5-8
- works independently and collaboratively to meet individual and collective goals within specified timeframes COM5-9
Related Stage 4 outcomes: COM4-1, COM4-4, COM4-5, CO4-6, CO4-7, COM4-8, COM4-9
Related Life Skills outcomes: COMLS-1, COMLS-7, COMLS-12, COMLS-13
Content descriptions
Consumer and financial decisions
Students:
- reflect on their own purchasing decisions, including affordability, the decision-making processes they have used in the past, and how they might change these in the future.
Financial management
Students:
- investigate tools and strategies for effective financial management, including monitoring and record-keeping to avoid overcommitment, for example, managing mobile phone costs.
Teacher resources
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Categorising expenses
Student learning resources
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Spending diary
Where did that fifty dollars go?
Suggested activity sequence
This sequence is intended as a framework to be modified and adapted by teachers to suit the needs of a class group. If you assign this activity to a class, your students will be assigned all student resources on their 'My learning' page. You can also hand-pick the resources students are assigned by selecting individual resources when you add a work item to a class in 'My classes'.
Note: this activity can be introduced in the first lesson, but the majority of the lesson will take place one week later as students are required to keep a spending diary in this time period.
Part A: Spending diary
- Explain to students that one of the tools they can use to manage their money is by keeping a spending diary. A diary enables them to see what they spend their money on.
- Set students the spending diary challenge. Over the next week, you will keep a spending diary. Use the diary to record everything you spent money on–include everything such as mobile phone costs or top-ups, bus fees and snacks.
Part B: Using the spending diary to work out spending habits
At the end of the week, students use their completed spending diaries to complete the worksheet.
- Ask students to complete step 1 and step 2 of the worksheet.
- Use the visualiser to explain the difference between regular expenses, needs and wants.
- Students complete the remaining questions on the worksheet.
- Use a reflection strategy for students to record what they have learned about their own spending habits.
- Students write a statement explaining to someone their age why understanding their spending habits is an important financial management tool