personal finance thanksgiving assignment

Feast and Finance: A New Thanksgiving Picture Puzzle

Before we sit down to consume way too much turkey, it’s time to exercise your mind! We're excited to introduce a new Thanksgiving themed activity: Feast and Finance. This new activity serves up a cornucopia of picture puzzles to engage and challenge students.

The premise is simple: students are presented with a series of pictures that represent words or parts of words. The goal is to interpret the pictures to figure out the personal finance or Thanksgiving phrase. 

Seamless Integration for Teachers

We've made delivering this 15 to 20 minute long activity as smooth as pumpkin pie! You'll find everything you need neatly arranged in a Google Doc (with answer key) and Google Slides (Thanks to Leola Rutherford for creating a Google Slides with answer key! ) , if you want to complete this as a whole class activity. We recommend completing this activity in pairs so students can share their multiple perspectives about the meaning of each picture. There is also a word bank at the bottom of the answer key to use for modifications.

Team NGPF is thankful for all of the teachers that impact countless students every year. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with joy, gratitude, and perhaps a puzzle or two.

About the Author

Dave martin.

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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Budget Your Thanksgiving Meal

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• Don’t make too much. If you’re throwing food out at the end of the week, you made too much food and are wasting money.
• Don’t make things people don’t like. Just because it is a family tradition doesn’t mean you HAVE to make it.
• Cut some of the appetizers. If everyone is full before they start the main course, you’re going to have a lot of food left.
• Let others help and bring things. You don’t have to make it all yourself. Even if you just have someone bring the desserts, that will cut back on costs.
• To reduce waste, use your leftovers before they spoil. For ideas on what to do with leftover Thanksgiving foods check out these Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas ( https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodwise/news/thanksgiving-leftover-ideas ).

Sources: Carrie Johnson, 701-231-8593, [email protected]

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Financial Literacy Lessons for Thanksgiving

In the bustle of extravagant dinner preparations, cross-country travel, hosting out-of-town visitors, and scoring the best Black Friday deals, it’s easy to forget the true nature of this Thanksgiving week. Thursday is a time to enjoy loved ones, good food, and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

For our financial experts, Thanksgiving also means a time to be thankful for increased financial literacy efforts across the country and the world. So we decided to combine the two and put together family-friendly Thanksgiving financial lessons perfect for getting everyone involved.

We spoke with three financial experts who have five simple, but meaningful, ideas that you’ll want to try this holiday.

1. Charity Donations

Leading up the Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for all that you have while contributing to the happiness of others. Community is the reason for the season.

Patti Black, a CFP at Bridgeworth , LLC, suggests that parents set up a donor-advised fund at a community foundation and make each family member in charge of giving a certain percentage of your total contribution.

“Community foundations do a good job at educating givers about how to evaluate charities and providing exposure to non-profits that may not be as familiar,” she said, adding that, “[i]t's a great learning experience for parents and for kids.”

Not only is donating to charity a great way to teach your children about philanthropy, but making them responsible for a certain percentage of the family’s contribution—even if it’s $5 from their allowance—forces them to divert a portion of their income to a new type of expense. Additionally, you could choose to make a one-time donation for November or to donate on a monthly basis and have your children budget it into their allowance or summer jobs.

“This idea also ties into the new tax law, which raised the standard deduction, making it more likely that taxpayers will take the standard deduction rather than itemize,” Black said.

While some people choose to combine two to three years of charitable contributions into a single year, thus hitting the higher threshold in order to itemize, they may not want to donate all at once. Stretching your charitable gifts over the course of the year may be more ideal.

In this case, “parents could give the higher amount to a donor-advised fund at their local community foundation and then make gifts from the donor advised fund over time,” explained Black.

2. Individual Gifts

Personalize your acts of kindness by genuinely connecting with those in need and giving them a kit filled with necessities, specifically winter gear as the temperatures drop.

Safe, clean drinking water and healthy food is something many take for granted. There have been movements of late for people to stock their bag or car with bottles of water, soft granola bars, and other inexpensive necessities to hand out to homeless people or others in need.

Black said that when her children were younger, she would have them put together decorated “blessing bags” filled with non-perishable snacks and toiletries. She set a limit and had the children add up their purchases without going over budget, made easier at stores like the Dollar Tree since everything costs a dollar. Similarly, consider maximizing coupons or buying large quantities at bulk grocery stores. Black’s family would then store these bags in their van to hand out.

3. Thanksgiving Grocery Shopping

“Many families struggle to keep within the bounds of their grocery budgets throughout the year, so adding a fancy Thanksgiving meal into the mix can be financially burdensome. But you don't have to buy everything at once, make the meal Instagram-worthy, or follow every tradition dish-for-dish,” said Rebecca Graham, a content management specialist at BestCompany.com.

Graham suggests thinking outside the box as you plan your Thanksgiving dinner menu.

“Have your kids take inventory of what's in your pantry or emergency food storage and ask what ideas they have for dishes the family can create with what's already there,” she said. “As they brainstorm ideas, younger kids can draw pictures of their favorite Thanksgiving foods and older kids can make a mock menu of their own.”

Once you have an accurate inventory list, make a list of the ingredients you’ll need to fill in your recipes. To save money, she suggests browsing grocery store ads ahead of time to find which stores feature sale prices for the items on your list. According to Graham this is a good time to “enlist your kids' help as you shop for (strictly!) what's on the list.”

“You may think you're only teaching your kids, but odds are they will teach you, too, by holding you accountable to the plan!” she added.

On the other hand, “[i]f you don't want to use food storage items for Thanksgiving dinner but want to avoid blowing your November grocery budget with the holiday, consider making the week prior Eat Cheap Week,” she said.

For Eat Cheap Week, buy only the bare minimum of grocery essentials. Each child can be in charge of deciding on and helping prep a meal using ingredients you already have in the pantry, fridge, or freezer.

“Make it fun by allowing your kids to design a menu or sign featuring the day's Eat Cheap Entree and decorate name cards for each table setting,” she suggested.

“As parents, sometimes we are afraid to deviate from what we've always done, even when it's in our family's best interest money-wise, because we think it won't be as special,” Graham said, arguing that “we should give kids more credit [because] even young children can learn to appreciate how special holidays are when they play a part in the preparations, including the financial ones like meal planning, shopping, and preparing.”

4. Family Money Games

If your family gathers around the table on Thanksgiving Thursday, chances are high that you’ll also gather around the living room afterwards for some low-maintenance entertainment. Add a financial-focused card game to your collection of low-stakes Thanksgiving day board games.

“Money Habitudes is a deck of cards that has been used by hundreds of thousands of teens, young adults and adults to start money conversations and discover their money personality profiles,” said Syble Solomon.

Solomon is the creator of award-winning Money Habitudes , a conversation starter and money-personality profile that helps people understand the reason for their money choices.

“Many people purchase it for family events during the holidays to make it easy to bring up the topic of money in a fun way without talking about budgets or what people should do,” she said.

In fact, the game’s focus is on the missing emotional component of money—”what motivates us to spend and save the way we do?”

In this fun game you’ll be able to see just how differently everyone in your family thinks about money, but more importantly, it’s an easy way to spark honest dialogue about a typically taboo topic.

5. Giving-Back Friday

This Thanksgiving, opt out of racking up excessive credit card debt on Black Friday and create your own “Giving-Back Friday.”

Instead of spending the Friday after Thanksgiving lying on the couch in a food daze, get up and get outside. Skip the Black Friday lines in favor of acts of kindness rather than wanton consumerism. This is the perfect time to take your children around the neighborhood to give back.

“For many years, I've taken my kids and a few of their friends out after Christmas (but this could easily be done around Thanksgiving as well) to perform random acts of kindness,” said Black.

Her family gathers around breakfast and creates a list of places they want to go and things they want to do. Black’s family then spends the day doing random acts of kindness, like “taping coins to a drink machine, delivering doughnuts to [their] local fire station and library, [and] taking flowers to an assisted living facility.”

At the end of the day you’ll find that “[i]t's a great antidote to the gimmes of the holiday season,” she said.

Patti Black has more than 20 years of experience helping affluent clients align their goals and their money. This work is especially important in times of transition such as starting a family, sending children to college, changing jobs, or retiring. Patti develops a customized financial plan that incorporates the clients’ needs, wants, and wishes while addressing employee benefits, income tax, insurance, investments, cash flow, and estate planning. Patti practices in a fee-only environment and is confident that the advice she gives is objective and geared towards her clients’ best interests.

Rebecca Graham is a content management specialist at BestCompany.com, an independent and impartial review site where companies don't "pay to play" and consumers can access real customer reviews and educational materials to help them decide which companies are best for them. She is also an emergency preparedness advocate and mom of two creative kids whom she teaches about money matters.

Syble Solomon is the creator of award-winning Money Habitudes®, a conversation starter and money-personality profile that helps people understand why they make the money choices they do. Money Habitudes was a Washington Post featured selection of the month and won the Smart Marriages Impact Award. As a popular speaker on the psychology of money, she has presented to diverse audiences including national conferences for non-profits and financial planners, international women’s professional events, universities and the NFL. She has been quoted in more than 100 publications including WSJ, NYT, US News and World Report, Bankrate.com and Forbes.

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Home » Insights » Personal Finance » Giving Thanks this Holiday Season

Giving Thanks this Holiday Season

• November 4, 2022

Thanksgiving is an excellent time to talk to family about philanthropy and meaningful gifting. Here’s a few ideas to get started.

• Estate Planning , Family , Charitable Giving

Thanksgiving has always been an important holiday to me and my family. Though there are many reasons to celebrate, the fourth Thursday in November brings us around the table to share a turkey, trimmings, homemade pies, and lively conversations. Discussions can range from recent events to personal stories to our goals for the New Year. If you’re getting together in a group to celebrate this Thanksgiving, here are few ideas (and a fun challenge) to jumpstart the conversation about giving and gratitude in 2022.

The American Thanksgiving holiday was born in the 1500s to celebrate the fall harvests, but most Americans learn in grammar school that it began in 1621 when the Mayflower pilgrims sat down for a three-day meal with the Wampanoag. In 1863, amid raging battles of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day be held each November. For many people, the day marks a time to be grateful and give thanks for friends, family, health, and homes.

Gratitude comes from the Latin word gratus, which means pleasing . This makes sense because gratefulness reflects our appreciation for kindness, gifts, help, favors, and other good fortunes that come our way. Our pause to reflect and express gratitude has therapeutic benefits as well. According to Martin Seligman, who introduced a field of psychology that he termed positive psychology in 1998, expressing gratitude can give us a psychological lift:

“When their week’s assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores.” 1

So, this Thanksgiving, keep in mind that gifting and gratitude come full circle: While it’s pleasing to receive gifts and acts of kindness, the act of showing gratitude and gratefulness can make us happier as well.

Charitable giving

Americans doled out nearly $500 billion to charities in 2021. 2 While acts of giving and kindness can be emotionally rewarding for both the giver and receiver, they can have tax benefits too. Here are a few ideas to consider if you’re in a giving mood this holiday season:

• Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) are direct gifts from a qualified retirement plan to an eligible charity. If you’re age 70½ or older, you can donate up to $100,000 per year, and it sometimes counts as a required minimum distribution (RMD) once you turn 72.
• Estate planning through donor-advised funds (DAFs) is sometimes a tax-efficient option if you don’t have a secondary or contingent beneficiary listed on your retirement plan. DAFs are investment accounts designed to support a charity and are tax exempt. Distributions from most retirement plans are typically subject to income tax. However, there is no tax payable on the full amount of the retirement distributions that go to DAFs as gifts to charity.
• Put appreciated stock in a DAF . If an investor is holding shares of a company that might be subject to long-term capital gains tax, they can potentially avoid the tax liability and reduce their marginal tax rate by gifting the stock to a DAF. Doing so is more tax efficient than selling the shares, paying the tax, and gifting the rest to a charity.
• Charitable gifting to local charities has tax advantages. Individuals can deduct (on Schedule A as an itemized deduction) cash contributions to charities up to a percentage (in some cases up to 100%) of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI). The percentage varies depending on the type of asset and the nature of the charitable organization. 3

As financial advisors, we often help clients think through how to make an impact in their communities and do meaningful gifting to their families or favorite charities. Planning can be in the present and/or drafted into estate plans for the future. Talk to your financial advisor for more information on getting started.

Meaningful gift giving

We rack our brains trying to choose the perfect gift for our family members, but one of the greatest gifts you can give is something you may have overlooked.

When a major life insurance company surveyed a group of boomers, 86% agreed that the greatest gifts they ever received involved family mementos and personal stories.⁴ The most valued treasures are often our stories and memories; they are the keys to keeping the family history alive.

Unless someone in the family has taken the time to write down personal accounts of the funny, meaningful, or even tragic events in their lives, those stories can simply vanish as aging relatives pass on.

Here are some suggestions to keep the memories alive:

• Create a “legacy celebration” and bring everyone together to share his or her favorite family stories. Video them, write them down, print them out, and have them bound so everyone can have a copy. Leave plenty of room for future chapters.
• Dig out those dusty old photo albums from the back of your closet. Go through them together. “Who are these people sunning themselves on the dock?” Unless someone wrote the names on the backs of those photos, the history is likely blurry.
• See how many stories surface from trying to recall when and where that group family photo was taken. Who was taking the pictures? And “Whose dog was that, anyway?”

Those little keepsake mementos with sentimental value can be equally meaningful. Great grandma keeps a tattered teddy bear on her bed. Granddad had given it to her before heading off to war. What happens to the teddy bear when she is gone? What about that coin collection, old record albums, wedding ring, or the medals Gramps earned for bravery on the battlefield?

Sharing stories, memories, and mementos can be a new way to celebrate family gatherings, especially at Thanksgiving when we focus on blessings, gratitude, and family connections.

Family giving challenge

Creating friendly family competition can be another way to encourage giving. Here’s how to participate in The Mercer Advisors Family Giving Challenge:

• Kick-off . A parent (or grandparent) gives each family member or child the same amount of money, materials, and/or resources, then lets each person do their research to decide how they want to give back to others within the community.
• Give. Each family member gives how they choose, then shares with the family what they did with their resources, how they gave, who they gave to and why, what the experience was like, and what the impact was.
• Share! Tell us about your family’s experience by tagging @MercerAdvisors and posting on social media using the hashtag #FamilyGivingChallenge . This will also link to others’ experiences so your family can see a glimpse of the impact from everyone’s initiatives.

Whether or not you participate in the challenge, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the blessings we all enjoy during this Thanksgiving holiday. We are especially grateful for the relationships we share with our clients. Thank you for reading and being part of our Mercer Advisors family.

1 “In the Praise of Gratitude,” Harvard Medical Review, November 2011 2 “Giving USA: Total U.S. charitable giving remained strong in 2021, reaching $484.85 billion,” Giving USA, June 2011 3 “Charitable Contribution Deductions,” Internal Revenue Service 4 “Family Values and History Are Still the Best Inheritance,” Estate Planning with a Personal Touch.

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Mercer Advisors Inc. is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors Inc. and is not involved with investment services. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. (“Mercer Advisors”) is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements.

All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the author as of the date of publication and are subject to change. Some of the research and ratings shown in this presentation come from third parties that are not affiliated with Mercer Advisors. The information is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed or warranted by Mercer Advisors. Content, research, tools and stock or option symbols are for educational and illustrative purposes only. For financial planning advice specific to your circumstances, talk to a qualified professional at Mercer Advisors.

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• 10 TIPS FOR HOSTING THANKSGIVING ON A BUDGET

10 Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving on a Budget

• Thanksgiving can be fun without overspending.
• Make less expensive dishes and shop for bargains. Turkey giveaways abound!
• Invite friends and family to contribute dishes.

Table of Contents

1. create a budget in advance, 2. stock up and buy in bulk, 3. find coupons to cut costs, 4. cut back on meat, 5. ask guests to bring a dish or beverage, 6. shop in season and local, 7. only make what you need, 8. make everything from scratch, 9. limit your dessert options, 10. plant a garden in your yard, plan beyond thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a great excuse to get together with family and friends and to eat, drink, and be merry. But if you’ve taken on the task of hosting this time-treasured holiday, you might have a little stress added on top of the anticipation.

Hosting Thanksgiving requires planning, spending extra time on your feet in the kitchen, and of course, extra expenses. In fact, the average Thanksgiving host can easily spend several hundred dollars preparing for the event.

If you’re hosting turkey day this year, you don’t need to bust your budget to create a memorable family feast. A little planning can go a long way towards hosting a satisfying Thanksgiving on a budget.

If you want to save money this Thanksgiving, start by setting a realistic budget . Think of the number of people you’re feeding and how much you’re willing to spend. Take a look at your own pantry and see what dry, canned, and packaged goods you already have so you can save money and time at the grocery store.

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Many Thanksgiving staples can keep for a while before they expire. Pay attention to the sales in your area in the months leading up to the holiday. That way, you can stock up ahead of time on the dry, frozen, and canned goods you’ll use for most of your Thanksgiving dishes.

Also, remember that buying things in bulk –either from bulk bins at your local grocery, or from a big box store like Costco–can seriously cut down on the added costs of packaging or buying multiple smaller items.

Clipping coupons may be a family pastime of the days gone by, but that’s because there are so many couponing and deals apps made for smartphones now.

Apps like Ibotta, Coupon Sherpa, SnipSnap, and Saving Star are easy to use and can save you a lot of money at the grocery store—especially during Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to double up on coupons and check the mail for additional ones before you head to the grocery store!

Learn how to coupon like a pro in 4 simple steps here .

You might be expected to stick to your grandmother’s traditional spread. But if a traditional Thanksgiving meal would break the bank, it might be time to switch up your menu.

For example, there’s no reason to buy a turkey and a ham this year. Most of it will end up as leftovers, anyway. Pick one and save yourself money, time, and effort. Or get creative and check your local butcher shop or grocery store for deals on other kinds of meat. You might be surprised to find reduced pricing on pork, beef, or chicken right around Thanksgiving.

If your family is feeling extra thrifty, why not eliminate the meat entirely and try a vegetarian Thanksgiving?

Potluck-style Thanksgivings are more and more popular these days. Not only can they help you host Thanksgiving on a budget, they’re also a great way for friends and family to share their traditions and favorite recipes with one another.

Additionally, it’s too easy to rack up a huge bill buying wine and liquor for your Thanksgiving guests. To save money, you could ask guests to contribute their favorite beverages to the bar this year. Not only does this ensure you’ll have a nice variety of drinks, it could really cut down on your costs .

The true spirit of Thanksgiving celebrates the harvest of your region. With that in mind, plan your meal around what’s in season in your area and buy from local farmers. Foods that travel a shorter distance sometimes costs less, so it’s possible to save money and support local businesses by shopping local.

It’s tempting to go overboard on Thanksgiving and whip up as many dishes as you can think of. But then you’ll have to deal with all the leftovers, which often end up in the trash.

If you plan ahead appropriately , you’ll have enough leftovers for a few work lunches, but not so much that you’ll have a wall of leftovers in your refrigerator that go bad before you can eat them.

Some packaged foods save you so much time and effort that they’re worth the expense. But it’s usually cheaper to make things like stuffing, mac n’ cheese, gravy, and other food from scratch.

Instead of accommodating every guest’s potential dessert preference, a pie and a tub of ice cream might be good enough. A massive spread of everyone’s favorite desserts may look impressive, but focusing on the classics could keep everyone happy and allow you to host Thanksgiving on a budget.

Growing your own garden is a great way to cut down on food costs year round—not just at Thanksgiving. Do a little research about what grows best in your area. Then, plant a garden in your backyard or put an herb garden in your window box. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around next year, you’ll be ready to truly celebrate your harvest!

The holiday season can bring a lot of expectations, but being savvy about saving money on your celebration doesn’t have to mean sacrificing a great meal. Planning ahead, getting creative, and shopping smart ultimately cut out stress and allow you to truly enjoy the time with your friends and family.

There’s a lot to be thankful for these days and taking the first steps toward improving your financial future could be one of them. Happily, learning how to deal with debt, money, and planning for your future doesn’t need to be hard. At Freedom Debt Relief, we’ve developed a simple to follow guide to help you find the tools you need to move to a better financial future. Get started by downloading our free guide right now.

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Cost Analysis: Premade Thanksgiving Dinner vs. Home Cooked

Here's where to buy Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Premade Thanksgiving Dinner vs. Homemade

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Whether you're ordering from a restaurant or cooking Thanksgiving dinner at home, there are some strategies to save money.

The cost of Thanksgiving dinner varies depending on the size of your household, the recipes you use and whether you cook it at home or buy it premade.

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But whether you're thinking of ordering out this year or are committed to cooking every dish from scratch, there are ways to save money on your Thanksgiving Day feast.

Here's what to know about spending less on your holiday dinner – and an analysis of cooking Thanksgiving dinner versus buying it premade.

How Much Does Thanksgiving Dinner Cost?

The 2020 cost of a 10-person Thanksgiving dinner was $46.90, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation .

That includes $19.39 for a 16-pound turkey, $3.39 for pumpkin pie mix and $3.44 for 3 pounds of sweet potatoes.

The Farm Bureau's cost breakdown is for a traditional Thanksgiving menu, says John Newton, chief economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation.

But your individual cost will depend on a range of factors, including the recipes you use and where you source your meal. "Every family splurges a bit and goes beyond that traditional Thanksgiving basket," Newton says.

If you choose to make your famous Grey Goose martinis or mix saffron into the mashed potatoes, you're probably going to pay more for your Thanksgiving Day feast. If you decide to keep the party small and serve the basics, you could spend less.

To save money, you'll need to be thoughtful about the recipes you use, the dishes you cook and your grocery store shopping strategies .

But cooking at home is a good start. "I think that, generally speaking, homemade can be cheaper, but not necessarily," says Jessica Fisher, a San Diego-based cookbook author and blogger at Good Cheap Eats.

Additionally, during the coronavirus pandemic, your costs may shrink as you choose to celebrate with a smaller group of people to limit your exposure risk.

How Much Does a Premade Thanksgiving Dinner Cost?

A premade Thanksgiving dinner for four to six people ranges from $40 to more than $200, depending on the details of the meal and location from which you order.

You're likely going to spend more on the premade dinner than you would cooking the ingredients yourself, but it may be worth it for peace of mind and some assurance of quality. It may also spare your having to purchase new kitchen equipment, spices and other materials.

Here are a few restaurants offering premade Thanksgiving meals to celebrants. Note: The area around the District of Columbia was chosen as a sample market when prices are posted based on location.

Boston Market Holiday Meals for Four to Six Serves: four to six people. Cost: $90 to $120 (check your location for prices).

Bob Evans Farmhouse Feast With Turkey Serves: four people. Cost: $59.99 (check your location for prices).

Buca di Beppo Thanksgiving Dinner To-Go Serves: six people. Cost: $138 (check your location for prices).

Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving Heat n' Serve Serves: four to six people. Cost: $69.99.

Harry and David Gourmet Turkey Feast Cost: $215.

Popeyes Cajun Style Turkey Cost: Starts at $39.99.

Whole Foods Classic Roast Turkey Breast Dinner Serves: four people. Cost: $69.99 (check with your location for prices).

Marie Callender's Turkey Breast Feast Serves: four to six people. Cost: $119.99.

Don't forget to factor in fees or gratuity if you choose to have the meal delivered. Additionally, check your local grocery store, which may have affordable catering options or premade entrees and sides for reasonable prices.

Ways to Save Money on Thanksgiving Dinner

Comparison shop. Folks ordering food from a restaurant should compare the options offered locally and by national chains to determine the best price for the meal that meets their needs.

Folks cooking at home can visit a low-cost grocery store, use coupons and purchase ingredients on sale in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to get the best deal.

Don't forget to take stock of what is in your pantry before you head to the supermarket.

Make a plan for your leftovers. Think about how you'll use that half-jar of sour cream, uneaten turkey or unused portion of onion, Fisher says. Are there ways you can repurpose your ingredients into weeknight meals to ensure that no food goes wasted?

That will help stretch your food budget and make sure that anything you buy for Thanksgiving does double duty during the week.

Ditch the turkey. If you're cooking for a small group – and nobody's craving turkey – rethink your menu. Perhaps you can use ham. Or just cook the turkey breast. A roast chicken can still give you that homey Thanksgiving feeling while being smaller and potentially cheaper.

When ordering a premade meal, ham may be cheaper than turkey. For example, at Bob Evans, the Farmhouse Feast with ham costs $54.99 for four people. The turkey feast is $5 more expensive.

Evaluate your priorities. Don't like cranberry sauce? Don't make it. Feeling pressured to bake three kinds of pie? Stick to just one.

"We tend to think we need to do all this variety, and I think that's where a lot of our cost comes in," Fisher says.

Keep things simple to lower your costs.

When ordering out, remember that some restaurants let you order dishes a la carte, meaning you can choose the foods you want catered and skip the extras.

If you have a smaller celebration on the schedule due to the pandemic, don't feel obligated to adhere to the classic recipes. You are free to create your own traditions this year.

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6 Budget Projects for Middle School Students (Make it Fun!)

By: Author Amanda L. Grossman

Posted on Last updated: May 9, 2024

Check out these budget projects for middle school students to self-discover lots of budgeting lessons (while having fun).

A budget project for middle school students can be just the thing to turn textbook money math practice and abstract budgeting concepts into real-life money lessons your students get to self-discover.

Use these budget project ideas for middle school students to learn things like:

• How to tell the difference between needs and wants
• Money math (counting money, calculating expenses, making change, etc.)
• How to plan something out ahead of time
• How to use a limited pot of money

Let's get started!

Budget Projects for Middle School Students

Read through each of these budget projects for middle schoolers, and see which you could take and adapt for your own classroom.

Hint: you also might want to check out these fun money activities for middle school students , personal finance project examples , and my article on how to teach budgeting .

1. Classroom Pet Budget Project

Do you have a classroom pet (or will you be getting one in the future)?

Great. Let’s tie that into a budget project for your middle schoolers.

Step #1: Create Your Survive & Thrive List

Part of budgeting for kids is understanding needs vs. wants . That’s why I want you to work with your students to create two supply lists:

• Survive List : On this list, include each thing your pet needs to survive. Like water, food, a clean place to sleep, an exercise area, any medicines, etc.
• Thrive List : On this list, include a few “extras” that, while your classroom pet doesn’t need , could certainly make life more fun or more comfortable for them. For example, you might include a hamster ball for exercise or a hamster tunnel for play.

Research the cost for each item, and include it in a pricing column to the right.

Hint: dealing with a younger class? Write your needs and wants items all over the board, and have your students raise their hands and tell you which items belong on the “survive list” and which items belong on the “thrive list”.

Step #2: Come Up with a Weekly or Monthly Classroom Pet Budget

How much can your classroom spend to take care of the pet each week or each month?

Estimate how much food the animal will need each week, and how much that will cost, plus any other needs.

If possible, set aside a few extra dollars each week added to a “Pet Slush Fund”.

Step #3: Use a Monopoly or Pretend Money Pay System

Get your students involved with the costs of the pet.

Pick a time each week when you’ll go over your money stats with everyone. Start with picking out free printable money (or Monopoly money), and counting out one week’s worth for the pet costs.

Each week, discuss with the classroom how much was spent last week or month (illustrating with the pretend money), and replenish of the money for the following week/month.

As the pet has other needs, such as vet costs, discuss the need to save up for them. As the slush fund grows and is not being used, go ahead and let the class decide on a “thrive list” item to get for the pet.

Tweak as needed for your classroom and educational objectives! For example, you could create pet groups, and each group takes a turn with being the pet treasurer for the week. They report on how much money is in the pot, and how much will be added on X date. They also give a status update on supplies (such as food and bedding), and what needs to be replenished in the future. They make the pretend transaction that you, as teacher, will make in the store – using the printable money and coins.

2. Creating a Classroom Economy (Grades 3-5)

Scholastic has a great, year-long budget project for your classroom where you set up a classroom economy. Kids are given job roles and salaries.  

Through a classroom store, kids will put concepts like saving, opportunity cost, supply and demand, and inflation into practice .

Lesson plans include:

• Introducing the Classroom Economy
• Opening Your Class Store and Bank
• Using the Class Store to Teach Economic Principles
• The Student Economist

Tons of free worksheets as well, such as a credit and debit log, class store math worksheets, blank check templates, opportunity costs and tradeoffs, etc.

Hint: you'll also want to check out my article on how to teach budgeting .

3. Tie in a Budget Project with Market Day

I created a market day lesson plan on pricing so that your students can get guidance on how to price their products.

Step #3 is really critical in this because it is all about how much it costs for them to make one unit of their product.

Using this information, you can tack on a budgeting component to your next market day. As students sift through market day ideas for kids to sell and make , have them stick with a budget (or make one of their own, depending on how much they can afford to put into this).

Then, help them price, and how many units they would need to sell at those price points to make a profit.

Psst: do your students need some product ideas? Here are 22 simple things for kids to make and sell , and 17 boy crafts to sell .

4. Budgeting for a Trip (PDF) (Grades 6-8)

Scholastic has a great, mini-budgeting project where students are asked to use $4,500 to plan a cross-country road trip.

With the help of the free printables, Calculating Vacation Costs and Project Outline: Going on Vacation, students will work on pricing out lodging, food, gas costs, etc. while handling the logistics of planning a multi-city trip.

What I like is kids are given choices for each category of vacation spending, and the cost is dependent on what they choose.

For example, they can choose a small compact vehicle that gets 35 mpg, a family sedan that gets 25 mpg, and a mini-van that gets 15 mpg. Think about the discussions that this could spark: tradeoffs between comfort and gas costs, figuring out who will sit where (or maybe compromising and rotating the passenger seat/driver), etc.

5. Shark Tank Project for Middle Schoolers

Have you heard of the hit show, Shark Tank ? You know, where entrepreneurs of all ages pitch their startups and companies to a group of investors, hoping they’ll get more funding?

I’ve got a whole article filled with shark tank lesson plans you can work through with your middle school students.

Granted, they’re very entrepreneurial-based, so you’ll need to adapt them to help your students learn how to budget.

For example, you could ask your students to create a list of start-up costs for a business idea they want to pitch.  

6. Cost-Per-Serving Budget Project

Task your middle schoolers with creating a dinner meal that costs less than $2.50/person for a 4-person family.

You’ll need to prep this ahead of time by asking students to bring in grocery store circulars and coupons that they can find.

Divide your class up in pairs or groups, and provide each set with at least one grocery store circular (more than one is better so that they can really shop around).

Download the menu from a local restaurant, and print it out (one for each set of students). Let the students choose one meal for each of the 4 people in their family to eat. Add up the total restaurant cost (plus tip – a great time to discuss how to leave a tip!).

Give them a set of coupons and scissors, and the following scenario:

You have a family of 4 and need to come up with a dinner meal plan that comes in at under $2.50/person.

A great resource is MyPlate.gov , where you’ll find printouts such as blank meal plan calendars, dietary guidelines, meal ideas, etc. Apps such as the SuperCook Desktop version allow people to put in certain ingredients and it spits out recipes.

You can create your own rules about healthy eating. At a minimum, you could require that the meal includes:

• A side dish with vegetables or fruits

Certain ingredients will not cost you money from your budget, because most households have these on hand already: cooking oil, salt, and pepper.  

Your students will need to calculate the cost of each food item in the recipe, and then divide that by the number of people eating the meal to find out the cost/person.

BudgetBytes.com has an awesome breakdown of how she prices out cost/serving, including the following info and rules you could use:

• Use $0.10 for herbs and spices
• You can use online shopping sites for pricing help, too (in case you don’t have enough circulars, or time to collect them)

Possible questions for discussion:

• How much would it cost for your family of 4 to order from a local restaurant? How much does this family save by cooking the homemade meal instead of eating out for dinner (subtract your total homemade meal cost from your total restaurant cost)?
• What ingredient costs surprised you, as either being more expensive than you thought, or much cheaper than you thought?  
• Your total cost per serving came in at $____/person. What was the total cost of your groceries for all the ingredients?
• What can you do with the leftover ingredients to keep your food costs as low as possible?

If you have the time and resources to go through a budgeting project more than once, then please do so! Kids can take the lessons they learned from doing it the first time through, and make changes the next time through. Either way, even doing one of these budgeting projects will help your students with their money management and budgeting skills.

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Personal Finance:Black Friday/Money Tips/Holiday/Thanksgiving/Financial Literacy

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Topic: Top 8 Black Friday Shopping Tips to Save Money Powerpoint

Looking for a simple and yet effective powerpoint to highlight ways to save money during the holidays? This powerpoint is for you! This powerpoint highlights the Top 8 Black Friday Shopping Tips to Save Money, and this resource will help bring creative engagement to your lectures!

Powerpoint Contains 8 Powerpoint Slides with colorful and animated sections on ways to save money on Black Friday Shopping. This is a fun and interactive topic for students in high school and in college!

*Powerpoint can be easily converted into Google Slides for your convenience

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Powerpoint contains the following information:

* Ways to Save Money on Black Friday Shopping

* A Brief History behind the name "Black Friday"

This powerpoint is specifically helpful if you are wanting to highlight Black Friday shopping, dive deeper into this financial aspect of life and the holidays, need a substitute filler around this time and season or a way to sensitively introduce the concept of saving money during the holidays. However you are using this- this will be a way to help students (and their families!) think about this subject in new ways and help this come alive for your students.This resource will help bring creative engagement to your lectures!

Practical and helpful- this will bring about a great discussion in your classroom!

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Check out ALL of the Personal Finance Resources available in the shoppe HERE !

Looking for Resources for Personal Finance on the holidays? Check out these other lessons in the shoppe:

Top 10 Tips to Save Money on Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving Dinner

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Finding an Apartment Powerpoint

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College Budget Assignment

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[email protected], solution manual for personal finance, 2nd edition vickie l. bajtelsmit chapter 1-14 (complete and verified study material) (313pages) learnexams, section 1 : solution manual for personal finance 1000 min.

1. Solution Manual For Personal Finance, 2nd Edition Vickie L. Bajtelsmit Chapter 1-14 (Complete And Verified Study material) (313pages) LEARNEXAMS

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CHAPTER 1 Instructor Manual and Solutions The Financial Planning Process LEARNING OBJECTIVES LO 1.1 Describe the personal financial planning process, and explain how the elements of a comprehensive financial plan fit together. LO 1.2 Describe how individual characteristics and economic factors influence personal financial planning. LO 1.3 Create a prioritized list of short-term and long-term personal financial goals. LO 1.4 Know when and how to find qualified financial planning professionals. LO 1.5 Consider opportunity costs and marginal effects in making personal finance decisions. SUGGESTED COURSE PLAN The first chapter can typically be covered easily in one week out of a typical 15-16 week semester. A suggested course plan for a class that meets twice per week: Class Period Topic and Reading Assignment (by Learning Objective) Suggested WileyPLUS Pre-Class Assignments WileyPLUS Resources to Use in Class Personal Financial Planner Assignment WileyPLUS Homework Assignment 1 Ch 1 The Financial Planning Process Read LO1.1 PFP Process, LO1.2 Factors Affecting PFP Register in WileyPLUS DP 1.1 Percentage Change Reflection Question 1: Effects of Inflation Money Attitudes (PFP 1.1) Interactive: Financial Literacy Quiz 2 Ch 1 Financial Decision-making Strategies Read LO1.3 Setting Goals LO1.4 Financial Professional LO 1.5 Decisionmaking Discussion 1.2: Impact of Inflation Interactive: Decisionmaking Style Reflection Question 2: Decision-making style Goal Setting (PFP 1.3 and PFP 1.4) Chapter 1 Homework: R:2- 3,6; P:1-2,11 Adaptive Practice Ch 1 File-based assignments for each of the Personal Financial Planning Worksheets have been set up in WileyPLUS so that you can easily assign these.

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Personal Finance Project (FIN3000)

Johnson school of business fin3000 personal finance project.

By Professor Anke Stugk, MBA [email protected]

A study of personal financial management including retirement planning; budgeting; individual taxation; consumer credit; investments such as stock, mutual funds, and annuities; insurance, and major expenses. Prerequisite: MAC1132 or permission of the faculty/program advisor, program chair, and dean. Personal Finance Semester Project Assignment Objectives

• Students will identify financial short term, intermediate, and long-term goals
• Students will be able to synthesize information to develop and evaluate strategies to create a personal financial plan
• Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of time value of money concepts
• Students will apply risk and return concepts • Students will differentiate investment tools and the risks and benefits associated
• Students will be able to use taxation concepts in personal financial planning
• Students will critically reflect on their own financial literacy

Assignment Instructions

Initial Investment assignment – Submit in Week 1

You have a $100,000 simulation account using the Stock-Trak simulation portfolio. Based on what you know today, please make investments that will fit your financial goals. Your submission must include a title Page, brief summary of your personal financial goals, brief reasoning for your investment decision, table of your investments, and references if applicable. Your write up must be a minimum of 150 words.

Continue working on the following section during the semester

Taxation Week 2

Clearly identify Federal Taxation principles that impact your personal financial planning. Provide detailed calculated examples pertaining to your simulation portfolio and financial goals. In addition to your calculations you must provide a write up of minimum 250 words for this section.

Asset and Credit Management Week 4

Identify asset and credit management principles you can use to achieve your financial goals you have stated in week 1. Provide detailed calculated examples pertaining to your simulation portfolio. Your calculations must include the concepts of time value of money. In addition to your calculations you must provide a write up of minimum 250 words for this section.

Insurance Needs Week 5

Clearly identify insurance needs you must meet to achieve your personal financial goals. Provide detailed information on life, health, and property insurance. In addition to your calculations you must provide a write up of minimum 250 words for this section.

Managing Investments Week 6

Based on what you have learned over the past weeks make adjustments to your portfolio. Identify the changes you have made to your portfolio and provide detailed information why you have made these changes. Download the detailed transaction report and include as appendix to your final portfolio. Select one investment you have made and complete a basic fundamental analysis for this security. This analysis must be in essay format and include the company name, ticker symbol, where it is traded, the company headquarter, who is the CEO since when, what is the industry, brief overview of the company, what has been the trend of the security over the past three years, what is the security beta and what does that mean for your investment? (Do not include bullet points!) In addition to your calculations and tables you must provide a write up of minimum 500 words for this section.

Retirement and Estate Planning Week 7

Provide detailed information on what measures you must take to be prepared for retirement. Based on your personal finance strategy include information on your necessary estate planning assuming you have achieved all your financial goals. In addition to your calculations you must provide a write up of minimum 250 words for this section.

Conclude on the main findings during this project. Provide detailed information on what you would change when reviewing your week one allocation and week 6 portfolio allocations. Provide a strategy to create a personal financial plan. You are required to have a minimum of 250 words.

Your final submission will include a title page, introduction using assignment from week 1, information for each section as stated above, and a reference page. All components must be submitted as one word document in your final week. You will be required to submit your assignment under the assignment link and through Turnitin. Only submissions in both places will be considered for grading. Students are required to adhere to the Academic Honesty Policy and follow APA style guidelines.

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