Saving and Budgeting

Overview

This 60-minute lesson for Year 9 Social Sciences focuses on the importance of saving money and creating a budget to manage finances effectively. It aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh by fostering students’ understanding of personal financial management within their social context and developing critical thinking about financial decisions.

Curriculum Alignment

Social Sciences

Context: Understanding how societies work and how individuals participate and take action responsibly.
Level: Year 9 (Level 5/6 curriculum transition)
Key Competencies:

Thinking – To develop reasoning about financial choices
Managing self – Planning and managing personal budgets
Relating to others – Collaborating in pairs for budgeting activities

Relevant Curriculum Statements

Understanding about money as a resource to manage and allocate (as per the Financial Literacy strand within Social Sciences)
Recognise the value of managing money through planning and saving
Identify and use financial planning tools such as budgeting

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

Understand the significance of saving for future needs.
Learn how to create a simple budget that reflects income and expenses.
Apply the 50/30/20 budgeting rule to fictional scenarios.

Success Criteria

Students can:

Construct a basic budget including income, essential and non-essential expenses, and savings.
Explain at least two reasons why saving money is important (e.g., emergencies, achieving goals).

Lesson Plan Breakdown

Time	Activity	Description
5 min	Introduction	Whole class discussion - Why is saving important? How does budgeting help? Engage students by asking about personal goals that require saving (e.g., holidays, education). Highlight how budgeting aids in achieving financial goals. Include questions such as "What happens if you don’t save?" Connect to current societal examples.
10 min	Explaining Budgeting and Saving	Present the 50/30/20 budgeting rule: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings. Use examples relevant to NZ teens (e.g., transport, food, entertainment). Include a short visual presentation/chart to differentiate categories.
20 min	Budget Creation in Pairs	Distribute a fictional income scenario (e.g., $1000 weekly income). Students work in pairs to allocate expenses into needs, wants, and savings using the 50/30/20 rule. Encourage realistic choices. Provide a budgeting worksheet with categories and a blank column for amounts. Teacher circulates to assist.
10 min	Skills Activity: Categorising Expenses	As a class activity, review examples of expenses and discuss which category they fit into. Have pairs volunteer their justification for particular expenses. Highlight common budgeting challenges like unexpected expenses or temptations.
10 min	Hands-On Digital Budgeting	Guide pairs to use an offline or pre-downloaded budgeting tool or spreadsheet template (teachers prepare in advance to avoid internet issues). Students input their fictional data to see digital budget representation. Show features like adjusting categories and viewing savings over time.
5 min	Reflection and Sharing	Students share their budgets with the class briefly. Discuss the difficulties they faced in balancing needs versus wants, and reflect on strategies to stick to a budget and save effectively. Encourage students to think about applying this to their own lives.

Resources

Budgeting worksheets with fictional income and expense categories.
Visual chart explaining 50/30/20 budgeting rule.
Spreadsheet template or budgeting app ready to use offline.
Whiteboard/Projector for class discussions.
NZ-specific examples of typical expenses for adolescents.

Assessment / Evidence of Learning

Completed budgeting worksheet showing application of the 50/30/20 rule.
Participation in discussions and explanation of why saving is important.
Digital budget reflecting an understanding of incomes, expenses, and savings.

Teacher Notes

Emphasise NZ currency and contextual examples relevant to Kiwi youth.
Encourage critical thinking about financial decisions, such as prioritising spending and savings.
Support less confident learners with scaffolding during budgeting activity (e.g., suggested amounts).
Highlight how saving leads to financial security and ability to meet both short-term and long-term goals, including study and health emergencies.

Cross-Curriculum Links

Mathematics and Statistics: Use of decimals, percentages in budgeting; basic financial mathematics concepts .
Health and Physical Education: Well-being through financial security.
Technology: Use of digital tools to create budgets.

Reflective Questions for Teachers

How well did students engage with budgeting concepts?
Were students able to distinguish needs, wants, and savings effectively?
Did the digital budgeting activity aid understanding?
How can this lesson be extended in the next lesson (e.g., tracking spending in real life)?

This plan is designed to provide a practical, engaging experience while nurturing key competencies of critical thinking, self-management, and communication within the NZ curriculum framework. The use of pairing and discussion supports social learning and reflective practice essential to Social Sciences education in Year 9.

Teaching Instructions