Who Is Really Deciding How You Spend Money?

Teacher Tips

Hook

• Start with the question rather than the sale: "How long does it take you to decide whether to buy something, and why does it take that long?" Give the full minute for thinking and discussion. Learners will say it depends on the price, the type of item, how much they want it. Those answers are useful to have on record, because the flash sale is about to take that thinking time away from them.
• Run the flash sale quickly. There are four adverts, with countdown timers dropping from 15 to 12 to 9 to 5 seconds, and learners vote BUY or PASS (on mini whiteboards, or hands up and hands down) before the timer runs out. Try not to stop and explain between rounds, as the shrinking window is the lesson.
• Before the reveal, ask "What happened to your thinking as the timer got shorter?" and let learners say it themselves: the less time they had, the less they thought.
• For the reveal, ask "The decisions about how we save it, spend it and invest it are ours to make, right?" and wait for the nods. Then follow with "But did you notice what just happened?" The contrast only works if they agree first.

ITZA Pathways

• Pathway 1 (Money Traps: Too Good To Be True) covers how BNPL works, what triggers impulse spending, and the hidden costs built into online shopping. Pathway 2 (Influencer Economy: Who's Really Deciding?) covers sponsored content, affiliate links, discount codes, FOMO and parasocial trust.
• As you circulate, ask "Do you recognise these tactics from things you've seen online?" If you get a plain yes or no, it's worth asking which app, which creator, which shop. A specific example sticks far better than a general nod.
• Two more questions work well as you go round the room: "Can you spot a BNPL option next time you shop online, and now that you know how it works, will you use it differently?" and, for everyone, "Who is really making this decision, you or the system?"
• For learners who need a way in, connect the influencer content to someone they actually follow. Faster learners can take the AI Buddy prompts further and look at their own susceptibility to spending traps, rather than being given more content. Early finishers can move on to the Money Smart Minigame once they've worked through both pathways, as a bonus rather than a race to the end.

Classroom Activity

• For the Temptation Pitch, groups choose a product and three pressure tactics, then create a 30-second advert that pushes people to buy without thinking. Say the purpose out loud before they start: the aim isn't to sell the product, it's to show how easy it is to be pushed into buying something quickly.
• If there is time, put a real product page on screen first, with a BNPL button, a countdown timer or an "only 2 left" warning. Ten seconds of a real site makes the tactics concrete and gives groups something to draw on. Temu is a good one to try, as it's known for using countdown timers and low-stock warnings.
• Thirty seconds is tight on purpose. It pushes groups to commit to three clear tactics rather than a rambling pitch, and keeps every performance within the time you have.
• The learning happens after each performance. Before a group reveals what they used, ask the audience to name the tactics and say how they know. If the class misses one, spend a moment on it, as the strongest tactics are the ones that don't feel like tactics.
• While groups plan, a few questions to drop in: "Who is this advert aimed at?" "What makes it feel urgent or exciting?" "Is the price clear, or could there be hidden costs?" "Is BNPL making it look cheaper than it really is?"

Plenary

• The reflective question asks for one decision they'll make differently next time they're about to buy something. Push for something specific and doable, such as waiting a day before buying, checking what a BNPL purchase really costs, or asking who is paying the influencer, rather than "I'll spend less".
• Bring the hook back before the lock-in: "If that flash sale had been a real advert, who was actually making the decision?"
• The lock-in is from Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist who studies how people really make decisions, writing in 2008. "We usually think of ourselves as sitting in the driver's seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we make; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires… than with reality." The line on the slide after it brings it back to the session: once you can spot the system behind a purchase, you take back control of your decisions.