Where Does All the Money Go?

Teacher Tips

Hook

• Show the scenario and ask "Is this an acceptable routine or not, and why?" Give the full minute for discussion before you take feedback. Most learners will say it's the person's own money, so it's fine. Let that view be argued properly, because the reveal is about to test it.
• Step through slides 2 to 4 one at a time so the cost builds up in front of them, rather than jumping straight to the total of £1,352 a year.
• Then ask "Has this changed your answer from the start?" and invite the learners who switched to say what changed. The routine is exactly the same. The only new information is the total, and that's the whole point of the lesson.
• If someone asks whether this means never buying a coffee, the 30% Wants in the 50/30/20 rule is your answer. Enjoyment is built in. The idea is to choose it on purpose, not to lose track of it.

ITZA Pathways

• Pathway 1 (How to Budget Your Life) covers what budgeting is, the 50/30/20 rule, and Needs, Wants and Savings. Pathway 2 (The Latte Effect) covers small habits, spending leaks, and working out what a habit costs over 1, 5 and 10 years.
• As you circulate, "Could you live on just the 'Needs' part of the 50/30/20 rule?" gets learners thinking about what they'd actually give up. Two good follow-ups are "What's the difference between a need and a want?" and "Which want would you find hardest to give up?"
• It's worth glancing at the Latte Effect calculations as you go round. If a total looks off, ask how many days a year the habit really happens. A school-day snack and a daily subscription don't add up the same way.
• Ask learners to name one spending leak from their own week: a small, regular cost that drains money without being noticed. Saying one out loud gives them a head start on the personal leak they'll identify later.
• For learners who need a way in, connect the Latte Effect to things they already spend on, like gaming credits, snacks or Roblox top-ups. Faster learners can take the AI Buddy prompts further and look at what their own spending says about their priorities.
• Early finishers can move on to the Budget Builder Minigame once they've been through both pathways, as a bonus rather than a race to the end.

Classroom Activity

• Pairs sort 21 expenditures into Essential, Desirable and Future You (Savings). Read the three definitions out before they start. Essential is spending that has to be paid every month. Desirable isn't essential but supports a good standard of living. Future You is money set aside now rather than spent, even though nothing is bought.
• Give the full 4 minutes for the sort, then go through each category in turn and ask pairs to justify their choices. Some items can go either way, so ask what would change if the person's circumstances were different. For example, if they work from home and their income depends on reliable broadband. The reasoning matters more than matching an answer key.
• If a pair has put nothing in Future You, try "If you spend everything that's left over, what happens the month the boiler breaks?"
• The 2 minutes to add up the Essential total is where the activity moves from sorting to budgeting. Work out the total yourself beforehand and compare it with 50% of each income: £1,290 for £2,580, and £875 for £1,750. That gap is where the discussion is.
• Introduce the two incomes one at a time, with real time to reflect and edit the budget after each. Start with the median of £2,580 a month: half of the workforce earns more than this and half earns less. Then move to the minimum wage figure of £1,750 a month. "What did you cut first, and why?" works well after each.
• At the lower income, learners will often find that needs alone use up most of the money. It's a good moment to ask what that means for saving, and why budgeting matters most when money is tight, rather than being something only for people who are struggling.

Plenary

• The reflective question is on the slide. Push for something specific: one habit or leak they could change, and what they'd do with the money instead. "Spend less" is a start, but it needs something concrete behind it.
• The lock-in line is from Morgan Housel, a financial writer, in his 2020 book The Psychology of Money. Read it slowly: "Doing well with money has a little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave." It links straight back to the hook. Was the difference in that routine about being smart, or about behaviour? Asking for one example from today that shows it works well.