The Game of MoneyA young person’s guide to money management.

Day 1

Money, Money, Money!!!• Buy a new shirt? Go to a movie? Buy a car? Achieving

your financial goals requires planning. Your goals will change as you grow older.

• To learn about money in your life as an adult, let’s play the money game. As you work through this guide, imagine that you’re 28 years old. You’ll make some choices in this game, but some things are out of your control.

• This is not a game to win or lose. It’s about making good choices and understanding the consequences of your choices. You will make decisions about how you will spend your money.

Good luck in the game of money!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Your choice of careers – and how hard you work – can be the difference between earning $20,000 or $200,000 a year.

Look at what goes into choosing a career…

ABILITIES

Many people choose careers according to their abilities, whether they’re creative, persuasive, or good with numbers. Identifying your skills will help you choose an occupation. Forget about being a brain surgeon, for example, if you’re all thumbs.

#1-#2 - On your Finance Sheet - List two of your abilities – things you’re good at – that might shape your career.

NEEDS• Another part of figuring out what you want to be is

knowing what you want – and need. • #3-#5 - On your Finance Sheet - List any important

needs in your life. • For many careers, you need more than skill and

desire; you need to be prepared. Most employers view education as proof that you’re prepared.

• Colleges and even employers can be picky about who they let in or hire; they often look at grades to decide if a student has the skill and determination to do the job needed.

EDUCATION

#6 - On your Finance Sheet –

So what kind of student are you?

NOW –vs- THEN• #7-#13 - On your Finance Sheet - I’m in Middle School,

but when I am 28…• Read the word in column A then in column B describe

what this means to you as a middle school student now. In column C describe what you think life might be like as a 28 year old. In column D write how column B and column C are the same or different.

LET’S GO TO WORK• Sometimes wants, needs and

abilities can come together and lead a person to a dream job.

• Let’s see – Maybe you love clothes, have a knack for drawing and style, and make pretty good grades. You could be a fashion designer?

• One way to find a job is to look in the local newspaper for listings in the classified ads.

#14-#25 - On your Finance Sheet Go to your teacher’s web page, click on FACS Exploration then “Herald Journal” or “Deseret News” to browse through the different job opportunities found in the classified ads. Determine your top 3 choices. Write the name of the job at the top and list 3 skills, abilities, or experience you need for this job.

CHOOSE A CAREERThere are dozens of career

choices. On the handout about careers, they are categorized by the schooling required.

While you might change jobs in real life, you need to stick with one career for this exercise.

WHAT KINDS OF STUDENT ARE YOU? (Refer back to #6.) USE THE GREEN JOB CHOICES SHEET

• If you’re an “EXCELLENT” student, choose a job from boxes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or H.

• If you said “GOOD,” you can pick from any job in boxes A, B, C, D, E, and F.

• If you said “SO-SO,” you can pick from any job in boxes A and B.

• If you said you’re a “POOR” student, your choices are limited to jobs in box A.

• Find the job you are interested in and write this on #27.

• Write the type of degree or diploma you would need for this job on #28.

• Write the salary for this job on #29.

Utah Futures• Open the Internet and go to your teacher’s web site from the

MLMS home page.• Click on FACS Exploration then click on Utah Futures• Click on Browse Utah Futures.org• Click on Occupations & Jobs• Click on Occupations Index• Click on any of the letters at the top to find careers alphabetically.• Explore the site and find information about two careers you

might be interested in. Find the information asked for in the table on your Finance Sheet for each of the careers.

• #30-#35 - On your Finance Sheet – Complete the table for 2 careers.

• Save your sheet to the folder the teacher designates.