Moneyville

Tamika has a small paper route and earns about $20 per week. She also babysits for her younger brother once a week and receives another $10. She has to put away in savings $20 a
week for college. She has $10 for spending on things she wants or needs.

Right now, she is interested in getting tickets to a concert of a favorite band coming to her town. She also knows she will eventually need a new winter coat. Her big goal,
however, is to be able to go on her class trip to Mexico, in two years.

A concert ticket at $48 will take about 5 weeks to save for: $10 per week x 5 = $50.
A winter coat costing $100 will take about 10 weeks to save for: $10 per week x 10 weeks = $100. (However, she can not start saving for this special event until after the concert.)
A trip to Mexico with her Spanish class will cost $1,000. $1,000 divided by $10 per week is 100 weeks or almost two years. (After she has used 5 weeks' money for a concert and 10 weeks' money for a coat.

As Tamika looks at her special spending she realizes that she will not have the money she needs for her Mexico trip in the two year time period. How can you adjust her
spending?

You can plan your own spending like Tamika. List your predicted income and your spending goals, then use a calculator or spreadsheet to make a plan to reach those goals.

Some ideas for Tamika.

- Expand the paper route to earn more money.
- Take on extra jobs on the weekends to earn extra money for the concert.
- Decide to skip the concert and buy a CD of the band’s music instead.
- Decide to wait until the coat goes on sale for half price and only spend $50.
- Suggest that the Spanish class hold a fund raiser to help everyone earn some of the money needed for the trip.

Remember, any time you need to make your spending plan balance, you can:

- Spend less
- Earn more
- A combination of both!