Week 01, Class 04
The Monthly Budget
Earn and manage your money
A budget is a plan for money that has not arrived yet, and most first budgets fail because they assume a perfect month. This class teaches students to build one that expects the unexpected.
Students separate fixed spending from flexible spending, allocate savings before spending rather than after, and then face the real test: a surprise bill that lands mid-month. The budget is not memorized. It is built, broken and rebuilt.
Topics covered
- Fixed and flexible expenses
- Building a monthly budget
- Spending categories
- Saving before spending
- Planning for irregular costs
- Decisions when unexpected expenses hit
The practical activity
Students build a full monthly budget on a hypothetical paycheck, then absorb an unexpected expense, decide what gives way, and defend the revised plan.
The learning outcome
Students can build a monthly budget and make decisions when unexpected expenses disrupt their plans.