Lesson plan · Money Fundamentals · Lesson 6
Emergency Savings
Why an emergency fund keeps small surprises from becoming debt, and how much to aim for.
- 45 minutes
- Grades 9–12
- Beginner
- Activity: pairs
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Define a true emergency: unexpected, necessary, and urgent
- Set a starter goal and a 3–6 month emergency fund goal
- Explain how an emergency fund keeps surprises from becoming debt
Materials
- Slide deck and a projector
- Worksheet (one per student)
- Emergency Fund Calculator (projected, or on student devices)
- Exit ticket slips (bottom of the worksheet)
Standards
- National Standards for Personal Financial Education (2021)
- SavingManaging Risk
- 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.
- (9) The student recognizes financial risks faced by individuals and families and identifies strategies for handling these risks to avoid potential loss of assets and earning potential.
Topic-level alignment by FLC. How we map standards
Key vocabulary
- A true emergency
- Something that's unexpected, necessary, and urgent. All three. A sale on shoes is none of them.
Background reading
The official sources this lesson is based on.
- An essential guide to building an emergency fund (opens in a new tab) · consumerfinance.gov
- Your Money, Your Goals (opens in a new tab) · consumerfinance.gov
45-minute agenda
0–5 min
Warm-up
Post: “Your car needs a $600 repair tomorrow. List three ways you could pay for it. Which is best, and why?”
5–12 min
Direct instruction
Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:
- A true emergency is unexpected, necessary, and urgent.
- Start with a starter goal, then build toward 3–6 months of essential expenses.
- Keep it safe and reachable — a savings account, not stocks.
- Plan for predictable costs separately.
- Refill the fund after you use it.
Use the “See it” slide (Paying for a $600 car repair) to make the idea visual.
12–17 min
Worked example
Walk through “Diego's starter fund” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.
17–22 min
Live demo
Project set your emergency fund goal from the slides or the Emergency Fund Calculator. Change one input at a time and have students call out what they think will happen.
22–32 min
Emergency or Not?
Format: pairs · 10 minutes
- Give pairs ten scenario cards: car repair, concert tickets on sale, cracked phone screen, yearly car registration, ER copay, holiday gifts, job loss, laptop breaks mid-semester, flight for a family emergency, new game release.
- Pairs sort each card: true emergency, predictable cost, or want.
- Discuss: predictable costs (registration, gifts) need their own savings, not the emergency fund.
- Pairs calculate 3- and 6-month goals for someone whose essential expenses are $1,400 a month.
What to look for: Predictable: registration, holiday gifts. Wants: concert tickets, new game. Most others are true emergencies. Goals: $4,200 (3 months) and $8,400 (6 months).
32–37 min
Check for understanding
Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Questions:
- Which of these is a true emergency-fund expense?
- What's a 3-month emergency fund target?
- It's smart to keep your emergency fund in individual stocks so it can grow faster.
37–42 min
Discussion
- Why might an emergency fund matter even more for someone with an unpredictable income, like tips or gig work?
- What's a realistic starter emergency fund for someone your age? Why?
42–45 min
Exit ticket
Prompt: What three things make something a true emergency?
Differentiation
Common misconception
“My credit card is my emergency fund.” Borrowing turns a surprise into debt that grows with interest.
Support
Post the three-question test (Unexpected? Necessary? Urgent?) and have students answer yes/no for each card.
Extension
Use the emergency fund calculator to show how the time to reach 3 months changes when you save $50, $100, or $200 a month.
Homework or make-up work
Students can complete the full interactive lesson — including its knowledge check — at learnwithflc.org/courses/money-fundamentals/emergency-savings. No account needed; progress saves on their device.