Lesson plan · Money After High School · Lesson 10
Saving and Investing on Your Own
Putting what you've learned into practice with your first paycheck.
- 45 minutes
- Grades 9–12
- Beginner
- Activity: pairs
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Follow a common order of priorities for your money
- Automate saving and investing
- Plan what to do with a raise
Materials
- Slide deck and a projector
- Worksheet (one per student)
- The lesson's interactive (projected, or on student devices)
- Exit ticket slips (bottom of the worksheet)
Standards
- National Standards for Personal Financial Education (2021)
- SavingInvesting
- Texas TEKS §113.76 Personal Financial Literacy and Economics
- (8) The student understands the importance of saving and investing in creating wealth and building assets.
- (10) The student understands how to set personal financial goals.
Topic-level alignment by FLC. How we map standards
Background reading
The official sources this lesson is based on.
45-minute agenda
0–5 min
Warm-up
Post: “Your first full-time paycheck arrives. What are the first three things you'd do with it?”
5–12 min
Direct instruction
Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:
- Starter fund → match → high-interest debt → full fund → invest → goals.
- Automate on payday.
- Save part of every raise.
- It's a guideline — adjust to your life.
Use the “See it” slide (A common order for your money) to make the idea visual.
12–17 min
Worked example
Walk through “Nadia's first real job” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.
17–22 min
Live demo
Project what $200 a month could become from the slides. Change one input at a time and have students call out what they think will happen.
22–32 min
Order of Operations
Format: pairs · 10 minutes
- Give pairs six cards: build a starter emergency fund, get the full employer retirement match, pay off high-interest debt, build a 3–6 month emergency fund, invest more for retirement, save for other goals.
- Pairs put the cards in order and explain each step.
- Compare with the order in the lesson and discuss any differences.
- Pairs apply the order to a new graduate with a $900 credit card balance at 24% and an employer match.
What to look for: A common order: starter fund → full match → high-interest debt → full emergency fund → invest more → other goals. For the graduate: starter fund, grab the match, then pay off the 24% card.
32–37 min
Check for understanding
Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Questions:
- Following the common order, what's usually next after capturing any employer match?
- Setting up automatic transfers on payday makes saving more likely to happen.
- What's a smart way to avoid lifestyle creep?
37–42 min
Discussion
- Which step in the order would be hardest for you? Why?
- Why do you think lifestyle creep is so common?
42–45 min
Exit ticket
Prompt: Why does the employer match usually come before paying off other debt?
Differentiation
Common misconception
“I'll start saving once I earn more.” Habits built on a small paycheck carry over to bigger ones.
Support
Provide the six cards with a one-line hint on each.
Extension
Create a one-page money plan for your first year after high school with specific monthly amounts.
Homework or make-up work
Students can complete the full interactive lesson — including its knowledge check — at learnwithflc.org/courses/money-after-high-school/saving-and-investing. No account needed; progress saves on their device.