Education Technology

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  • Subject Area

    • Other Subjects: Social Studies: American Gov't/Civics

  • Author

    National Council of the Social Studies

  • Level

    6-8
    9-12

  • Activity Time

    45 Minutes

  • Device
    • TI-83 Plus Family
    • TI-84 Plus
    • TI-84 Plus Silver Edition
  • Software

    TI Connect™

  • Accessories

    TI Connectivity Cable
    Unit-to-Unit link cables

  • Other Materials
    This is Activity 2 of 3 for Personal Finance and Budget. See the other Activities: Activity 1: Calculating the Cost of Living, and Activity 3: Assessing Personal Finance.
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NCSS: Personal Budget

Activity Overview

Students will complete the personal budget worksheet using data from the first worksheet and making choices. Students must make changes to their budgets, if their budget exceeds their income, and reflect on their budgets and their forced choices.

Before the Activity

See the attached Activity PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity.

Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.

Distribute a copy of the Personal Budget worksheet to each student or cooperative group. Remind students to complete the budget in pencil, because they may have to make changes.

During the Activity

  • Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
  • Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity


  • Students will:
  • Determine monthly gross and net income from various jobs.
  • Calculate the cost of a home at various mortgage rates.
  • Calculate the cost of car payments over various time periods.
  • Create a personal budget after evaluating data.
  • Validate comprehension of personal finance and budgets.
  • After the Activity

    Lead a class discussion using the Debriefing Guide for Activity 2 as a guide. Inform students that they will be assessed on the knowledge that they have acquired over the last few days.