Budgeting — slides
Financial Literacy Club
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
Budgeting
Give every dollar a job before you spend it — using take-home pay and a simple starting framework.
14-minute lesson · learnwithflc.org
Budgeting · 1 / 19
Financial Literacy Club
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
Budgeting
Give every dollar a job before you spend it — using take-home pay and a simple starting framework.
14-minute lesson · learnwithflc.org
Today's goals
By the end of class, you'll be able to…
- Build a monthly budget from take-home pay
- Apply the 50/30/20 guideline and adjust it to a real situation
- Explain why budgets are reviewed and revised
Warm-up
If you had $1,000 a month to live on, what are the first five things you'd have to pay for?
Think, then write your answer.
The big idea
Budgeting
Give every dollar a job before you spend it — using take-home pay and a simple starting framework.
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
A budget is a plan for your money, made before you spend it. It isn't a punishment. It's you deciding where your money goes instead of wondering where it went.
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
- 1
Start with take-home pay
Use what actually lands in your account after taxes and deductions — not your pay before taxes.
- 2
List your expenses
Fixed expenses stay about the same each month (phone, rent). Variable expenses change (food, entertainment, gas).
- 3
Decide on savings
Treat savings like a bill you pay yourself — not whatever's left over.
- 4
Track and adjust
Compare your plan to what really happened, then adjust next month. A budget that changes is a budget that's working.
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
A popular starting point is the 50/30/20 guideline: about 50% of take-home pay for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings or paying down debt. It's a guideline, not a law. If you live at home with few bills, you might save far more than 20%.
Money Fundamentals · Lesson 4
Other methods
A zero-based budget gives every single dollar a job until income minus planned spending equals zero. The envelope method sets a fixed amount for each category and stops spending when it's gone. Pick whichever you'll actually stick with.
See it
Out of $2,000 in monthly take-home pay: $1,000 goes to needs, $600 to wants, and $400 to savings and debt payoff.
- Needs: $1,000 (50%)Housing, groceries, transportation, bills
- Wants: $600 (30%)Eating out, entertainment, hobbies
- Savings & debt payoff: $400 (20%)Emergency fund, goals, extra payments
Real example
Aaliyah's first real budget
Aaliyah is 17, lives at home, and takes home about $600 a month from a part-time job. She wants a car in a year and a half. Her plan:
- Car fund (savings): $200
- Phone bill (her share): $40
- Gas: $60
- Eating out: $100
- Entertainment: $80
- Clothes: $60
- Gifts and giving: $20
- Flexible / unexpected: $40
Total: $600 — every dollar has a job. After the first month, she sees she actually spent $160 eating out. Instead of quitting, she moves $40 from clothes and $20 from entertainment into food, and keeps the car fund untouched. That's budgeting working.
Try it together
Try it: build a monthly budget
Start with take-home pay, then fill in each category. The calculator shows what's left and your savings rate.
Your numbers
After taxes — what actually reaches your account.
Results
Total spending
$400
67% of income
Remaining
$0
Not yet assigned
Savings rate
33%
$200 a month
- Spending $400
- Savings $200
| Category | Amount | Share of income |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $0 | 0% |
| Transportation | $60 | 10% |
| Food | $160 | 27% |
| Entertainment | $80 | 13% |
| Other expenses | $100 | 17% |
| Savings | $200 | 33% |
Educational calculator, not financial advice. Results are hypothetical estimates based on the numbers you enter.
Activity · small groups · 12 min
Budget a Life
- Give each group a take-home pay card: $1,800, $2,400, or $3,000 a month.
- Groups split it with 50/30/20, then list specific expenses in each part (rent share, groceries, phone, transportation, fun, savings).
- Draw a change card for each group: rent rises $100, hours are cut by $200 a month, or a $50 streaming bundle is added.
- Groups revise the budget without touching savings first, then share what they cut.
Check for understanding · 1 of 3
Your take-home pay is $1,800 a month.
Using the 50/30/20 guideline, about how much goes to savings and debt payoff?
- A$180
- B$540
- C$900
- D$360
D. $360
20% of $1,800 is $360. (Needs would be about $900, and wants about $540.)
Check for understanding · 2 of 3
You planned $80 for eating out this month but actually spent $130.
What's the most useful next step?
- ALook at why it happened, then adjust next month's plan or cut somewhere else.
- BGive up on budgeting — it clearly doesn't work.
- CPut the extra on a credit card and move on.
- DStop tracking food so it doesn't feel bad.
A. Look at why it happened, then adjust next month's plan or cut somewhere else.
Overspending in a category is information, not failure. Either the plan was unrealistic or something changed. Adjust the plan or trade from another category.
Check for understanding · 3 of 3
You should build your budget from your gross pay (before taxes), since that's what you earned.
- True
- False
False
Build it from take-home (net) pay. Taxes and deductions come out before the money reaches you, so budgeting from gross pay plans to spend money you never receive.
Remember
Key takeaways
- A budget is a plan made before you spend.
- Always budget from take-home pay.
- 50/30/20 (needs/wants/savings) is a starting guideline — adjust it to your life.
- Review monthly. Adjusting the plan is part of the plan.
Discuss
Talk it over
- Why do so many people stop budgeting after a month or two? How could you make it easier to stick with?
- How might the 50/30/20 split look different for a high school student living at home versus a recent graduate paying rent?
Exit ticket
Why do you budget from take-home pay instead of gross pay?
Answer on your exit ticket before you leave.
Nice work today.
Review this lesson anytime — free, no account needed:
learnwithflc.org/courses/money-fundamentals/budgeting
Next up: finish your worksheet.