Real-life Budget activity

This activity will be a guided class activity in which students choose their career from a list of careers and median salaries. The students will then use websites and given information to determine their school loan payments, buy a house, determine their mortgage, utilities, car payment, insurance and groceries/living expenses. The students will be able to complete a budget sheet and then a short 4 question reflection sheet from the activity. My students did this at the end of 8th grade math and really enjoyed the activity. It opened their eyes to what real-life is going to be like for them and also how much their parents actually pay each month. I used 3 - 45 minutes periods, but would recommend using 4-5 days to fully complete this activity and have some good discussions.