Needs & Wants

Activity Description

The activity is a comprehensive budgeting exercise designed to teach students about the importance of managing their money and time to satisfy their needs and wants. The activity begins with students selecting a career they would like to pursue. Based on their chosen career, they will be assigned a monthly salary and free time to spend for their needs and wants.

Next, students will identify items for each of the categories of food, shelter, transportation, clothing, entertainment, education, family, friends, and community engagement. For each item they choose, students will need to consider whether it is a need or a want. For example, a need might be groceries for food, while a want might be going out to eat at a fancy restaurant. This will help students to differentiate between necessities and luxuries when making spending decisions. Based on their selection of option for each category, their available money and time will be reduced.

Students will have to consider their available money and time while taking every decision, they might be wanting to purchase a villa but based on the career they initially selected, they may be able to afford only a condo. But at the same time, high paying careers may have less free time, that means that, some may not be able to meet the needs such as community engagement.

The students will need to think critically about their spending habits and make decisions based on their available resources.

By completing this activity, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of budgeting and financial decision-making. They will learn how to differentiate between needs and wants, prioritize their spending, and make wise decisions to achieve their goals. The activity will also encourage students to think critically about their personal values and interests, and how they can use their resources to live a fulfilling life.

For Teachers : When running this activity in the classroom,

1. Introduce the concept of needs and wants: Start by discussing the difference between needs and wants and give examples to clarify the concept. This will help students to understand the purpose of the activity.

2. Ensure that students understand the instructions before they begin the worksheet activity. Read the instructions together as a class and answer any questions that students may have.

3. Students don't have to get a 100% score but a score above 90% is better.

Learning Objective

By the end of this worksheet activity, students will be able to differentiate between needs and wants, evaluate and prioritize their own needs and wants, and develop decision-making skills to make effective choices based on limited resources

Teacher Tips