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Ask as homework for them to bring in a grocery shopping receipt so they have an idea of what they're spending.
Inflation erodes your wealth - Use the teachers' strike as an example
Use any remaining time to finalize your budget. Once you do the subtraction of income vs expenses, see how much money is leftover. That money should be what you put aside for savings. If you're not happy with that your excess income, look through your budget and see where you can make cuts. This might mean redoing some lessons to save money, such as adjusting your grocery budget or picking a different place to live.
Don't forget, your final grade for this course is going to be decided on your budget. Below is a rough guideline of what your teacher is looking for in your budget to decide your mark.
Lesson 3-5 --> Gross Income $48,152 (Minimum wage, 40 hours a week) with a tax of $7,465.60. Net income would be $40,686.40.
Lessons 9-11 --> Rent - $300/week.
Lesson 12 --> Travel costs - $22.25/week.
Lesson 15 --> Cell phone - $25/month, replacing a $1000 cell phone once every 3 years. Average $80/week for "wants."
Lessons 13-14 --> Groceries - $130/week (Or make up Lesson 8: Groceries)
Lesson 16 --> You need to have car insurance if you want a car. Car insurance - $1000/year for comprehensive, $500/year for third party
Optional Insurances...
Pet insurance - $20/month for each cat, $100/month for each dog
Health insurance - $800/year
Dental insurance - $400/year
Renters/contents insurance - $500/year
Excellence with 8 points (E8) - Budget is fully completed that has some leftover income with all lessons attempted.
Excellence with 7 points (E7) - Budget is fully completed, but you have no leftover income/over budget and most lessons attempted.
Merit with 6 points (M6) - Budget is mostly complete, might be missing a few conversions between weekly/monthly/yearly costs and most lessons completed.
Merit with 5 points (M5) - A resonable attempt has been made to the budget (e.g. a net total has been completed, there are some conversions between weekly/montly/yearly costs) and lessons.
Achieve with 4 points (A4) - An incomplete budget that shows some conversions between weekly/monthly/yearly costs and attempted most of the lessons.
Achieve with 3 points (A3) - An incomplete budget and attempted about half of the lessons.
Not Achieved with 2 points (N2) - Attempted to put some numbers into the budget AND attempted a few lessons in the workbook.
Not Achieved with 1 point (N1) - Attempted to put in some numbers into the budget OR attempted a few lessons in the workbook.
Not Achieved with 0 points (N0) - No data added to the budget and barely any lessons attempted.
©Keri Tan Garlick 2025
Website last updated November 3th, 2025