The Game of Life in the 1920’s and 30’s

What are we doing? Today you will be given a job and a salary. You must come up with a budget for 1 month of living. You will need to think about your “needs” and your “wants”. Throughout this activity you will be faced with scenarios in which you will need to adjust your budget and make choices. Are you ready for the challenge?

Step 1 Introduce yourself to your group. Tell them your name, describe where you live and your occupation (job). You do not need to reveal your salary if you don’t want to.

Step 2 Distribution of “money” a.k.a chocolate. This will be your money! Each M&M color is a different dollar amount. You will use this to invest or store in the bank. DO NOT EAT ANY! This will ruin your budget  – **Green - $100 – **Blue - $50 – **Red - $20 – **Orange - $10 – **Yellow - $5 – **Brown - $1

Step 3 Investing was a big part of the 1920’s. Many people saw investing as a quick and easy way to make some money! So lets invest! – You can invest as much or as little as you’d like. Usually people invest from 5%-20% of their money!

Step 4 With the rest of your money (what is not in the stock market), budget it accordingly. Rent / Mortgage – 0-400: $8/month rent- 1$ Utilities – : $10/month rent- $1.50 U – 850-1,500: $18/month rent- $3 U – 1,550-5,000: $45/ month mortgage payment- $5U – 5,000-9,000: $60/month mortgage payment-$8U

Continued… Think about wants vs. needs. Talk to the people around you about your decisions. – Give them advice, get advice from them. Help each other if needed! With any left over money, consider putting it in the bank to save for a rainy day! I need 1 or 2 volunteers from each group.

Scenario 1 Volunteers…CONGRATULATIONS! You just got married!! (No, not to each other! Your spouses aren’t in your group) – Think about how this will effect your budget! Make some decisions and recalculate! – Those of you who aren’t married, help them out with their budget!

Scenario 2 Hooray!!! All of those who invested in the stock market have made a 100% profit! – What changes will you make in your budget? Take some time and recalculate. – Go grab your profit! (Your original investment will stay put unless)

Scenario 3 If you are married, CONGRATS! You just had a baby! – Think about how this will effect your budget! Everything from diapers to cribs! Make some decisions and recalculate! – Those of you who aren’t married, help them out with their budget!

Scenario 4 Hooray!!! All of those who invested in the stock market have made a 50% profit! – What changes will you make in your budget? Take some time and recalculate. – Go grab your profit! (Your original investment will stay put)

Scenario 5 STOCK MARKET CRASHES!!!! – You lose all invested money, those who saved money in the bank lose their money also. Think about how much you have left now. Make decisions and re-calculate your budget.

Scenario 6 DUST BOWL HITS!!! – Farmers lose 75% of their MONTHLY income. Everyone else loses 5% of their MONTHLY(the farming industry effects the entire economy)  Make decisions and recalculate

Scenario 5 If you have a sticky note on your desktop, you have lost your job! You find (unstable) work for ¼ of the original MONTHLY income. Make decisions and re-calculate

Scenario 6 If you have an X on the back of your sticky note, you have found a permanent job, but for half of the income only  – FINAL RECALCULATION!

Now what?... What do you expect from your government? Be specific. Complete questions and reflection. Well thought out answers will receive CANDY!!!