I came across a few 1-2 minute videos created by high school students to explain the benefits of budgeting as part of the LifeSmarts 2015 Competition:

• Jamestown High School (North Dakota):  Unexpected Virtue of Budgeting
• Henrico 4-H (Virginia):  Don’t Let Your Budget Go to the Dogs
• West Chicago (Illinois):  What Happens When You Don’t Budget Properly
• Alabama:  Budget Man!

Questions:

1.  Which video do you think does the best job of explaining budgeting?  What are the key points that it makes?

2.  If you had an extra class period and have already covered budgeting, it might be fun to have students create a one minute video to convince their peers of the need to budget.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.