Unit 1, Day 4: Track What You Spend

Lesson 4 of 6 in Unit 1, Your Money Plan

School-year day

Day 4 of 180

Time

20-minute core + 30-minute extension (50 minutes in all)

Teacher Talk with MystrS. Checked October 27, 2026 (Pacific time). Tags: Teacher Talk, Finance, Unit 1, Day 4, Tracking, Spending Record, High School, MystrS

Goal: Students record a week of fictional spending, compare it to Jordan's budget from Day 3, and name one adjustment the record suggests.

Materials:

• Day 3 completed Jordan budget (or a clean teacher key if a student was absent).
• Spending log sheet: seven days, columns for Date, Item, Category (Need / Want / Save), Amount, Running total. Printable.
• Envelope of 14 fictional receipts / text alerts for Jordan's week (bus, lunch, streaming trial, snacks, phone add on, and similar). Mix of needs and wants.
• Highlighters. Word bank: track, record, adjust, category.
• ELL/IEP: pre labeled category icons; allow calculator; partner scribe option.
• Optional shared device: Budgeting: why it matters section on revisiting the plan.
• No device option: paper log and receipt slips only.
• FERPA/COPPA: all receipts are Jordan's. Do not assign "track your own spending this week" as a graded task that reveals family data. Optional take home is a practice log with made up items only.

Core (20 min)

1. Hook (2 min). "A budget is a guess until you write down what actually happened."
2. Model (4 min). Teacher logs two sample receipts on the board: one need, one want. Show running total.
3. Log the week (10 min). Pairs open the receipt envelope and fill the log. Sort each line Need / Want / Save. Add the running total.
4. Compare (3 min). Hold the log next to Day 3's budget. Students mark one category that ran high and one that ran low.
5. Close (1 min). "Tracking is how you revise. Tomorrow we protect the plan with an emergency fund and a save ahead habit."

Extension (up to 30 min)

• Adjust the budget (10 min). Students rewrite one line of Jordan's monthly budget based on the week of data. Turn and explain to a partner.
• Account alert tie in (10 min). Read the family talk Budget plan and account alerts. Students list two alert types that would have caught Jordan's overspend (for example a low balance alert). No real logins.
• Error hunt (10 min). Teacher plants two math mistakes in a sample log on the board. Class finds and fixes them (attention to detail, IEP friendly with a checklist).

Check for understanding:
Half sheet:

1. Why track spending if you already have a budget? (one sentence)
2. Name one change you would make to Jordan's budget after this week's log.

Standards (2021 National Standards for Personal Financial Education, Jump$tart/CEE):

• Spending 12-9; Spending 12-1c; Spending 8-1.