Understanding finances and taxes can be hard! These fun accounting activities and games will give your students a head start with money management. From learning about interest rates and loan repayments to employment practices for retirement accounts, we’ve got you covered! Students will get the chance to balance personal and national budgets, become loan sharks, and build their dream futures. Once you’ve talked about managing money, head to your local credit union or bank to open a kid’s account!
1. The Jellybean Game
Build confidence in budgeting with this fun activity! Give your students 20 jellybeans. They’ll then have to use them to figure out how to cover the basics and all the extras they want! They’ll learn how raises, income losses, and new jobs impact both their spending power and ability to save money.
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2. The Money Game
Start teaching your little ones about spending and saving early! This easy game will help them visualize how much life costs and why it’s so important to save money. The first player to save $1,000 wins.
Learn More: Teach Beside Me
3. Grocery Shopping Game
Keep your kids from throwing everything in the shopping cart! Get them to appreciate the cost of food with this super simple activity. Draw a shopping list from the pile. Add up the costs and see how expensive groceries really are!
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4. Wants vs. Needs
Is it a necessity or just something you want? This digital activity gets your kids thinking about the difference between the two and how each impacts their monthly budget. Afterward, research the real-life costs of each item and calculate their monthly spending habits.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
5. Math Digital Escape Room
Focus on calculating interest rates and escape the room! This activity is great for practicing how to calculate tips and discounts without calculators. Students can work in teams or on their own and must explain their thinking for each question before moving on to the next clue.
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6. Budgeting Worksheets
Put your kids in charge of their accounts! At the beginning of each month, ask them to budget their expenses based on their allowance. They must then keep track of their spending. At the end of the month, tally everything up to see if they kept to the constraints of their budget.
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7. Spending, Saving, Sharing
Get your little ones started on their accounting journeys by talking about different money habits such as spending, saving, and sharing. Think of actions for each category. Then discuss the benefits and costs of each category as a class.
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8. Shady Sam Loan Game
Your students will learn all about the dangers of payday loans with this simulation! Playing the role of a loan shark, students must work to gain the most money possible from their clients. They’ll discover how interest rates, term lengths, and the number of payments affect their total loan payment amount.
Learn More: Shady Sam
9. All About Taxes
Tax season is upon us! These worksheets will help students get a grasp on the costs of owning a business, starting a family, and working abroad. Students are asked to identify the types of taxes in each scenario and analyze how taxes impact their lives.
Learn More: Consumer Finance
10. Lights, Camera, Budget
Get ready Hollywood! This awesome game gets students involved with the accounting procedures for their favorite types of films. They’ll have to strike a balance between expensive talent and the quality of their film. Have them share their ideas for a film when they’ve finished.
Learn More: GPB
11. Word Search
Find all the accounting words you can! This word search is perfect for getting a handle on accounting vocabulary. For each term that students find, they can write a definition or discuss how it impacts their lives.
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12. Mind Your Budget
Navigate credit cards, debit cards, and bankruptcy with this fun game! It’s perfect for high school students as they’ll explore the functions and services of banks, tax impacts, and the overhead costs of starting a business. Be sure to focus on borrowing money and taking out loans for school.
Learn More: K20 Center
13. Misadventures in Money Management
Assemble your team to avoid mismanaging your money! Each task asks students to answer questions about basic accounting and purchasing practices. After they’ve submitted their answers, videos will explain what they got right and what they need to improve on.
Learn More: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
14. Fiscal Ship
Practice balancing budgets with this interactive activity! Students must pick policies that will affect the government debt and meet their governing goals. This activity is great for learning about delay periods and how the government decision-making process works.
Learn More: Hutchins Center
15. Finance 101
This easy simulation is perfect for getting students to understand how monthly income statements are impacted by living expenses. Students will learn all about employment practices, taxes, and the indirect costs that they’ll encounter in their adult lives.
Learn More: Finances 101 The Game
16. Uber Game
Do you have what it takes to be an Uber driver? Find out as you take a spin in this fun game. Learn all about overhead costs, indirect costs, and overt strategies for improving your rating.
Learn More: FT
17. Checkbook Knowledge
Teach your students how to balance their checkbooks one day! This is a great activity for practicing addition, subtraction, and place values. Talk about how checking accounts are linked to debit cards and the importance of keeping track of spending.
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18. Don’t Break the Bank
The visual stimuli of putting money in the bank will help your kids understand all kinds of accounting principles without even realizing it. Simply spin the spinner and add money. If they land on the hammer 3 times, they’ll lose it all!
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19. Stock Market Game
Let your kids practice trading all kinds of stocks! This fun game gives them an imaginary $100,000 to invest in the market. Have them research companies and trends and remind them to look for unbiased content and reputable publishers.
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20. Claim Your Future
See how far your income statements will go in today’s market. Students will discover how their choices impact their ability to save money each month. Have them pick a career and see how far they can stretch their budgets.
Learn More: Finance Authority of Maine
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