Money Management and Budgeting

A High School Economics Guide

Supplementary resources for high school students

Definitions and Basics

To take control of your money and your financial life, you need a plan. See Budgeting Basics, at PBS.org.

Take a quiz to test your budgeting know-how at Practical Money Skills.

Creating a budget can seem a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. See Tips for tracking and saving money, at Khan Academy.org.

In the News and Examples

Megan McArdle on Debt and Self-Restraint. EconTalk podcast episode, December 2009.

Megan McArdle, who writes the blog Asymmetrical Information at The Atlantic, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about debt and the challenge of self-restraint. She discusses her recent Atlantic article on her experience at a Dave Ramsey personal finance seminar, how it affected her life, and the psychology of self-restraint. The conversation concludes with a discussion of debt and savings during the Great Depression and the current national debt of the United States.

Play the Gen i Revolution online, an online game developed for middle and high school students by the Council for Economic Education.

The game includes sixteen Missions in which students attempt to help people in financial trouble. Students join the Gen i Revolution, strategically select their Operatives, and begin to explore and earn points as they work to complete each Mission.

Should you rent or buy your home? See this Econ Duel: Rent or Buy, at Marginal Revolution University:

A Little History: Primary Sources and References

Advanced Resources

Capital Gains Taxes, in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.

Insurance, in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.