Paying for Life Goals

As young people transition into adulthood, they begin to want big-ticket items to create their dream life. Especially when students have special needs, it can be difficult to understand what it takes to budget and save for high priced items. Help students understand how to set a goal and save for it with this financial lesson from Daily Living Skills, “Paying for My Life Goals.”

Beginning the Lesson

1. Brainstorm “Wants.” Help students list the kinds of big wants they desire for their lives. This might be a computer, car, vacation, education, apartment, or any dream that will take a while to save or pay for. List all their ideas on a chart or the board.

2. Price them. Next, price these items. Use a computer or cell phone to find the current price of each item. Then choose one as an example for the lesson.

3. Work the numbers. Explain how saving for an item involves knowing the entire cost and the amount of time you have to save. The more time, the less you have to save each month. The less time, the more you have to save. This equation means that it is better to plan as far in the future as possible so that you can save and still have money for your other bills and obligations.

4. Choose one item. Say they want to buy a $2,000 computer. (We’re not going to worry about taxes or shipping here but you might remind them that is also part of the cost.)  If they want it in 4 months, the formula is 2000/4=500. But, if they were willing to wait for 1 year, the formula would be 2000/12=166/month.

5. Their turn. Have each student choose one of their wants and calculate the cost to get it by the time they want it. Have them change their desire date to lessen or increase their monthly contribution.

6. Discuss. Help students discuss what they learned from the lesson. What does this mean to their “want list”? Can they purchase EVERYTHING they want during one single period of time? How can they create a budget that allows them to reach a few of their goals?

For More Information

And, while the lessons in this blog can stand alone, they work best when paired with the Financial Literacy course from Susan Traugh’s Transition 2 Life curriculum. This one-semester course is offered in both a special education edition and a companion text for general education students. Find it here!