For Educators

My Spending Priorities

Learning about finances is one thing but being able to apply our knowledge to our real lives is another. Luckily for students, today they will consider their spending priorities and how these might change depending on the situation.

National Standards of Personal Financial Education

By the end of 4th grade:

4 - 1a	Give examples of differences in people’s preferences that can influence their spending on goods and services.
4 - 1b	Brainstorm a personal list of goals for consumption of goods and services.
4 - 1c	Prioritize future spending, taking resource limitations into account.
4 - 3a	Define the concept of opportunity cost.
4 - 3b	Provide examples of financial choices that have opportunity costs.
4 - 4a	Compare the costs and benefits of purchasing an item for people with different characteristics (e.g., age, income).
4 - 5a	Explain how peer pressure can affect purchasing decisions.
4 - 5b	Share examples of how price, spending choices of others, peer pressure, or advertising influence a purchase decision.

By the end of 8th grade:

8 - 1a	Identify personal goals for spending and saving.
8 - 1c	Explain why people with identical incomes make different choices for spending, saving, and managing money.
8 - 2b	Explain the types of information most helpful in making a purchase decision.

Common Core State Standards

Connections for ALL grades:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.10

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Downloads

Assignment

Objectives:

Students will be able to rank their spending priorities.

Students will be able to determine which spending choices they would make in different scenarios.

Students will be able to use writing to reflect on their spending priorities, setting a goal for the future.

Materials:

• Building Blocks of Finance books

• My Spending Priorities Assignment

• Pencils

Procedures:

Download and print the assignment from the materials section.
Today students will engage in three reflection activities. Explain and/or model the directions for each for students.
After students rank their spending priorities, they will move to Part B. Here, they will consider two categories and decide on which category they will most likely spend their money. Remind students there are no right or wrong answers. The goal of this is to reflect on their own spending priorities.
Optional: Pause after completing these two portions to discuss what students have noticed so far. Ask them to reflect, either independently or out loud, on anything that stood out to them, priorities that surprised them, or goals for the future.
Direct students’ attention to Part 3 where they will write to reflect on their spending priorities and goals.
Optional: Consider having students share their reflections and writing. Because this topic is somewhat personal in nature, it might be beneficial for students to share with a peer of choice.