An easy to use budgeting interactive is the perfect tool for any personal finance course transitioning to online learning. Shout out to FAME - Finance Authority of Maine for creating exactly that. FAME’s Claim your Future gives your students a simplified look at the budgeting process in a budgeting interactive that takes less than 15 minutes to complete. It starts with a brief assessment and then provides a randomized (or chosen) profession/income. Then students get to decide how much to spend for a variety of items (housing, food, transportation, communication, etc). It even emphasizes setting aside 10% towards savings! [Pay Yourself First!]

Here is a quick look at the interactive to give you a sense of the user interface. I was randomly assigned the job of... high school teacher: 

Once students complete all the budgeting decisions, Claim Your Future gives them a detailed breakdown of their expenses and how much money they have left over based on their profession and income level. Have students play multiple times to see how education level and income affects their overall standard of living!

Questions:

1. Why is it important to budget for savings first? What can that money be used for in the future?
2. Were there any difficult decisions that you had to make when creating your budget? Were you able to choose all the selections you wanted? 
3. What are some ways you could use the money from “Remaining Funds” at the end of the interactive?
4. There is a budgeting rule of thumb where 50% of income goes to needs, 30% goes to wants, and 20% goes to savings. Were you able to budget appropriately to meet the 50/30/20 rule?

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NGPF has lots more interactives like this in the Interactive Library. Here are three popular ones:

• NGPF Online Bank Simulator
• Online risk calculator
• What's the S&P 500? 

About the Author

Mason Butts

After graduating from UCLA with a Master's in Education, Mason spent 5 years as a science educator in a South Los Angeles public high school. He is committed to supporting the holistic growth of all students and empowering them to live a life of relational, academic, and financial success. Now settled in the Bay Area, Mason enjoys facilitating professional developments and partnering with educators as they prepare students for a bright financial future. When Mason is not building curriculum or planning a training, he can be found cycling, trying new foods, and exploring the outdoors.