Budgeting Spend wisely. Save Regularly. Invest Carefully.

Opportunity Cost It’s not often that we ever have all the money we need to buy everything we want and need. Usually, when we spend money we have to make choices of what to buy. We have to consider the Opportunity Cost for each purchase we make. The Opportunity Cost is the item we choose not to buy.

Wants and Needs Wants are things you’d like to have. Wants are things you do not need. Needs are things you must have. Clothing, Food and a Home are needs. When you are young, your parents buy your needs.

Needs before wants Make a list of things to buy. Put things you need at the top of the list. Put things you want at the bottom of the list. My List of Needs and Wants Needs: 1. School lunch for next week $5 2. Shoes for school $25 3. Mother’s Day gift $25 Wants: 1. Anime Cards $10 2. Video Game $50 3. Bubble Stuff $1

Budget your Spending Most people don’t have enough money to buy everything they need and want. The use a budget to plan how to spend their money so that they have everything they need and some of the things they want but don’t need. A budget is a total of the money you have compared to a list of things you need and want to buy. If you don’t have enough money to buy everything on your list, choose which items to cross off. A budget lets you choose how to spend your money wisely.

Shop with your budget You need a jacket. You find two jackets. One has a hood. The other has a leather collar and belt. You want the jacket with leather collar and belt. How do you decide between the jacket you need and the jacket you want? Step 1: Check your budget and see how much you planned to spend on a jacket. Step 2: Find out the cost of each jacket. Step 3: Buy the jacket that costs the same or less than in your budget. Always take your budget with you when you shop.