I thought I'd share with you all the very successful activity we had last night on money management.  I started out asking the girls what they do with money they get now.  Most of them spend every last bit of it! :)  We talked about wants & needs, why it's important to
budget, paying your bills on time, etc.  We even touched briefly on checking accounts, credit cards, and credit reports.  (I think we may have another activity in the future just to cover those topics.) 

Then I put them in groups of 2 and told them that they were now roommates.  I gave them a scenario that they've just graduated from college and have a job where they bring home $1600 after taxes.  I gave them pages from an apartment guide so they could find an
apartment.  I also had pictures of a few cars w/ the monthly car payment written on it.  I gave them a few options for TV, phone, cell phones, and internet to choose from.  They had to budget tithing, savings, rent, entertainment, clothes, toiletries, groceries, etc. 

It was really interesting to see how they decided upon things and the logic they used.  They all really seemed to enjoy it and it was a fun way to discuss what can be a boring subject.  At the end I told them they had all thought $1600 was a lot of money. I asked what they
thought now, and as one girl said, "I need more money!"  I think they gained an appreciation for how much things actually cost.

I also had them make a grocery list and next week we're going to the grocery store to do some "imaginary" shopping.  They'll just write down the cost of things out to the side to see how close they are to what they've budgeted for.  If there's time we'll also go to Ross to
see what they can buy that will fit into their clothing budget.

Jenni in CO