To Buy or Not To Buy (Money Heroes)

This is a Money Heroes resource.

Money Heroes is an award-winning FREE programme from Young Money, supported by HSBC UK, seeking to transform financial education for primary children aged 3-11. We help young people learn about money both at school and at home, supporting both educators and parents with a range of high-quality, fun and engaging resources.

For more Money Heroes resources, sign up for free on our website www.moneyheroes.org.uk

This resource, is suitable for students age 3-9, with flexible options for delivery including activities, differentiation, and challenges.

In this resource, we help young people begin to be able to distinguish between things they need, and things they want. It highlights the differences between the two, and encourages students to think about how people make spending and saving choices, as well as exploring how to keep money safe.

Activity length:
60 minutes

Learning objectives: (taken from the Young Money Financial Education Planning Frameworks)
• I can explain the difference between something that I need and something I might want.
• I am beginning to understand that people may make different choices about how to save and spend money.
• I can make spending decisions based on my priorities needs and wants.

What’s involved?
In this activity, educators assemble a variety of household objects e.g. a glass of water, reading glasses, a computer game, sweets and a wooly hat. Children are asked to sort the items into two piles – things that are ‘needs’ and things that are ‘wants’. The difference between the two is then discussed.

Pupils then list things they want, and search for the price of these on the internet. After, they narrow down their list to just one thing they want the most, that is a non-essential item and discuss what this would cost, and whether they have enough money to buy it. If not, introduce the idea of saving – how long would it take you to save (given different scenarios)?

Pupils finally begin to make spending and saving decisions, by helping a character decide which pair of trainers to purchase. This leads to discussions around what people can afford, what they do and don’t need, and other considerations that need to be made when shopping.

Cross-curricular links:
Mathematics: Calculations, money
Computing: Using the internet to search for needs/wants
PSHE: Economic wellbeing and being a responsible citizen

You can find more high-quality resources at the Young Enterprise Resource Hub.