edHelper.com
Economics

Making a Budget

Making a Budget
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.85

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    intermediate, short-term, altogether, Long-term, setting, regularly, account, basis, actually, receive, ever, goal, opportunity, otherwise, longer, amount

Print Making a Budget
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Making a Budget  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Making a Budget
     Leave your feedback on Making a Budget  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Making a Budget
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     Do you ever wonder what happens to all your money? You thought you had plenty, and then, all of a sudden, it is gone? There are some easy ways you can find out what happens to your money.
 
2     First, figure out your cash flow. Add up all your income. This is money you receive on a regular basis; it could come from an allowance, pay from a job, or birthday gifts.
 
3     Then subtract your regular expenses. You should include things like bus fare, lunches, snacks, drinks, movie tickets, arcade games, or anything you regularly spend money on. What you have left (Here's hoping you have something left!) is the money you have available to do extra things. You could donate it to a good charity, save it, spend it for something special, or use it to buy gifts for your family or friends.
 
4     Maybe you don't know how you spend your money. Carry a small pocket notebook and pencil around with you. Whenever you spend money, write it down in the notebook. Just jot down the amount and what you bought with it. Do this for one week. At the end of the week, total each type of spending.
 
5     You may not be able to control how much money you have coming in. But you can control what goes out. How? You can make a budget. This is the number one thing you can do to get the most out of your money. A budget is a record of your income, how much you spend, and what you spend it on. What you spend your money on are your expenses. A budget also records your savings.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper