How it works
What one month has to cover
Somewhere to live.
Between a third and half of the money, before anything else is decided.
Bills, food, getting around.
The part you do not get a choice about.
Something saved.
At least a little, or an honest reason why not this month.
Something that is not a bill.
Nobody sticks to a month with nothing good in it.
Six categories, one price list, and every line has to be filled in.
The wage lands at 7.04 in the morning, then the payslip: £24,000 a year, which sounds like £2,000 a month and turns out to be about £1,730 once it arrives. For most of the room that gap is new.
Each group takes one of six job cards, from an apprentice mechanic on £1,280 a month to a junior developer on £2,400, and each card comes with a complication. The trainee nurse cannot walk to a half-five shift, for example. The best-paid group does not get the easiest month.
Ten dated events on the slides: the hot water goes, hours get cut, interest turns up on something bought on finance. Read one out, give the groups two minutes to rebalance their sheet, then read the next. Use three for a short version, six or more for the full hour.
Some students in the room will be living the real version of this at home. Keep the discussion about the card in front of them, and do not ask what anything costs at their house.
Get the lesson
You only need three pages: the price list, the six job cards and the budget sheet. The shop cards and printable cash are optional, and turn the hour into something groups walk around and pay for. Change the prices and the currency to suit where you are.
The lesson slides
Twenty-two slides that run through the month: the payslip, the job cards, all ten events to read out, and the discussion at the end.
Download PDFTeacher resource pack
Nine pages: timings, an event reference, the price list, job cards, the budget sheet, and optional shop cards and cash.
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