PSHE lesson on 'Budgeting and Long Term Goals'
A common complaint from many who have left senior school education is that they were never taught about financial budgeting and mortgages. Last week, we addressed these issues in PSHE, with a class on 'Budgeting and long term goals'.
Pupils discussed six money-related questions in groups:
- What’s the most money you’ve saved before, and what was it for?
- If you could buy one expensive thing, no matter the cost, what would it be?
- What’s the one thing you wish you had saved up for but didn’t?
- Would you rather get £5 every week for a year of £250 all at once?
- Would you rather have £100 now or £200 in 6 months?
- If you had to give up one thing you usually spend money on, what would it be?
It was interesting to hear the pupils' responses, with many wanting to buy their own bike, mansion or island and an infinite supply of comic books! Meanwhile, mathematical skills were put to the test for questions four and five. Most declared that if they had to give something up, it would be Apple TV, Disney Plus and possibly Wednesday Wavy trips. They all agreed that these questions had enabled them to think differently about spending and saving, and they all enjoyed hearing their peers' differing perspectives,
The pupils also learnt about budgets and why people need them. They studied case studies of individual expenditure and then recommended ways in which these individuals could spend and save each month, taking into account the key factors of income, fixed expenses, variable expenses and savings for specifics. This PSHE class proved to be a thought-provoking lesson preparing our pupils for life beyond Oratory.