1.1 Balancing a budget

English home language

Grade 9

Money matters

Module 2

Balancing a budget

Activity 1:

Balancing a budget

[lo 5.2,2.2]

1. Discuss the following in your groups:

• Do you receive pocket money?
• How do you plan to spend any money you might receive?
• If you get pocket money, is there any left at the end of the month?
• Are savings important? If so, why (not)?
• What is a budget?
• How does one balance a budget?
• What sort of expenses does the average person have each month?

How can these expenses be reduced?

• Debate the pros and cons of receiving pocket money in your groups

Activity 2:

Identifying and analysing expenses

[lo 2.4]

• Now your help is needed to sort out the money matters of the following fictional characters:

A. Alice Adams is a 32-year-old divorcee who lives with her two dogs in her own house. She is an IT expert and earns R6 000 a month (after taxes and insurance).

B. Peter Khumalo is a 26-year-old sales manager who earns a salary of R3 000 per month (after taxes and insurance). Peter is single and shares a two-bedroomed flat and household expenses with a friend. He is taking a part-time course in Marketing.

C. Nandi Naidoo is a 52-year-old domestic worker who earns R800 a month. She is a widow living in an informal settlement. She cares for her granddaughter, aged 5.

Divide your group of six into pairs.

Each pair in the group chooses one of the characters above.

Working with your partner, decide how much your character spends (in Rand) every month on each item. (You can add more items if you want to).

Draw up a list of monthly expenses.

Assessment

Learning outcomes(LOs)

LO 2

Speaking

The learner will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.

Assessment standards(ASs)

We know this when the learner:

2.1 communicates ideas and feelings creatively and expressively with a great degree of confidence and with limited assistance, using a range of selected oral types;

2.3 demonstrates basic skills in a range of oral text types;

2.4 demonstrates a range of interaction skills by participating actively in group discussions,

conversations, debates and group surveys, and while so doing:

• 2.4.4 acknowledges others’ opinions and disagrees politely when necessary.

Memorandum

ACTIVITY 1: BALANCING A BUDGET

1. After the groups have discussed the questions, let them report back to the class to ensure that each pupil understands the terms “budget”, “balance” and “expenses”.

Facilitate the group debate: make sure that quieter pupils are also involved.

ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING AND ANALYSING EXPENSES

1. Discuss the three fictional characters with the class. Explain vocabulary e.g. IT-expert, domestic, insurance etc.Let each learner fill in a form (included) on their character – a useful exercise in reading, understanding and vocabulary. They may need some guidance on this. Where details are not known, let them make up the information. e.g. Employer’s name and address, ID numbers, etc.

Ensure that the learners identify the pictures correctly. The pictures represent: savings; telephone/interne; electricity/services; transport; food and drink/groceries; education; cigarettes; clothing; medical expenses; housing/rent; entertainment. They may choose to add other expenses or omit some of these, but must provide a reason for their choice.

The character’s income should be realistically allocated to cover these expenses. Learners may need guidance with this – encourage them to consult their peers, their

EMS educator or parents – but the final product must be their own work. Let them draw up a simple balance sheet.

2. Mark this to see how accurate they were.