Who it’s for and what people take away
Adults who want a simple, realistic way to plan a month’s money, including people whose pay changes from week to week; no experience or spreadsheets needed.
By the end, people can:
- list what comes in and what has to go out in a month, with the dates as well as the amounts
- spot the week in a month when money runs short, and plan around it
- make a simple plan for a month when income goes up and down
- choose a first small step toward an emergency fund, and a safe place to keep it
Before the session
- Book a room with tables so people can write in small groups, and check the slides display on the projector or screen.
- Print the handout with the country block for the country you are teaching in, one per person plus a few spares.
- Print the worksheet, one per person, and bring pens and a few basic calculators.
- Print slide 9 (the made-up household) once per table of three or four, so groups can work from paper during the activity.
- Read the country block for your country and open each official link once, so you can describe what people will find there.
- Decide in advance how you will handle questions about one person’s own situation: thank them, keep it general, and point to the free services in the country block.
You will need
- Projector or large screen
- Printed handouts with the right country block
- Printed worksheets, one per person
- Printed copies of the made-up household (slide 9), one per table
- Pens and a few basic calculators
- A wall calendar page or flip chart sheet for the activity debrief (optional)
Run sheet
60 minutes. Slide numbers refer to the deck.
Session timings| Starts | Length | What happens |
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| 0:00 | 5 min | Welcome and ground rulesSlides 1–2Introduce yourself and what you do in a sentence. Set the ground rules: nobody shares their own numbers, this is general information rather than advice, and every question is a good one. Hand out the worksheet and handout.Say: “Today is about a plan that still works in the month the car breaks down. Nobody will ask you about your own money, and the worksheet goes home with you.” |
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| 0:05 | 8 min | What a budget is forSlides 3–4Present the idea of a budget as a plan made before the money arrives. Walk through the four steps on slide 4, and ask the room for examples of bills that can’t move.Say: “A budget isn’t a diet. It’s a plan for where the money goes before it arrives.” |
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| 0:13 | 8 min | Dates as well as amountsSlides 5–6Show why timing matters: a month can add up on paper and still fail if rent is due before payday. Then cover the costs that don’t come every month, and work the yearly-to-monthly example on slide 6 aloud.Say: “A month can add up and still go wrong, because the rent is due on the 1st and the pay comes on the 5th.” |
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| 0:21 | 7 min | When income goes up and downSlides 7–8Cover planning on a lower month, smoothing pay through a holding pot, and the order to pay bills in when there isn’t enough. Stress calling a company before a payment is missed.Say: “If your pay changes, plan on a lower month. A good week then becomes a bonus rather than the plan.” |
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| 0:28 | 15 min | Activity: a made-up monthSlides 9Put people into tables of three or four with the printed household. Run the activity steps below, keeping time aloud at 5, 10 and 13 minutes. Walk between tables and ask questions rather than giving answers. Use the last two minutes for a short debrief.Say: “This household is invented. Use their numbers, not your own.” |
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| 0:43 | 7 min | Starting an emergency fundSlides 10–11Present the emergency fund as protection from expensive borrowing. Cover starting small, keeping it separate, making it automatic, and using then refilling it. Mention that where it is kept matters, and that the country block explains what protects savings.Say: “An emergency fund that pays for a real emergency has done its job. Then you start refilling it.” |
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| 0:50 | 5 min | Free help where you liveSlides 12Turn to the country block on the handout and walk through each point. Name the free official tools and the free help available if the month really doesn’t add up.Say: “Everything on this part of the sheet is free and official. Nobody should charge you to use it.” |
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| 0:55 | 5 min | One next step, questions and closeSlides 13–14Ask everyone to write one step they will take this week on the worksheet, privately. Take questions, keeping answers general. Thank the host and the room.Say: “Pick one small thing for this week. A plan you use beats a perfect one you don’t.” |
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A made-up month
15 minutes, using the worksheet.
- Give each table the made-up household from slide 9. Their pay arrives on the 5th and the 19th, usually 900 each time, but one paycheck in a slow month is only 700.
- Using the bills table on the worksheet, put every payday and every bill on the month in date order: rent 800 on the 1st, bus pass 60 on the 1st, power 90 on the 15th, phone 40 on the 20th, a loan repayment 100 on the 25th, food about 75 a week, and a school trip of 30 due on the 10th.
- Find the tight spot. Which bills on the 1st have to be paid from the payday on the 19th of the month before? Which week has the least money in it?
- Plan for the slow month, when the 19th paycheck is 700 instead of 900. Decide what this household can change, move or ask about, without missing rent or power.
- Agree one small, regular amount this household could set aside for an emergency fund in a normal month, and when on the calendar it would move.
- Each table shares one thing they noticed in a sentence.
Questions for the room afterwards
- Where did the money run short, even though the month added up overall?
- Which bill could this household ask to move to a different date, and who would they call?
- What changed when the income dropped? What did you protect first?
- How much did you decide to set aside, and why that amount rather than a bigger one?
Take care
General information, never advice about one person’s situation, and nothing to sell.
- Never ask anyone to share their own income, bills, debts or savings, aloud or on paper you collect. The worksheet goes home with them.
- Don’t tell anyone what they should do with their own money. Explain how things work and point to the free services in the country block.
- Don’t name or recommend any bank, budgeting app, savings product or lender, including ones you use yourself.
- Don’t assume everyone has a regular paycheck, a bank account or a partner to share costs with. Keep examples to the made-up household.
- If someone mentions a cut-off notice, an eviction or a debt collector, speak with them privately at the break or the end, and point to the free help in the country block rather than advising on it.
- Don’t give figures for how much people should save or spend. Rules of thumb vary and can make people who can’t meet them feel they have failed.
Questions people ask
How much should be in an emergency fund?
It depends on your situation, so there’s no single right number. A useful first target is the cost of one common surprise, like a repair or a large bill, and then build from there. The official guides in the country block suggest ways to set a goal.
There is nothing left at the end of the month. What’s the point of a budget?
Then the budget’s job is to find the timing problems, the fees and the bills that could be moved or reduced. If the month genuinely doesn’t add up, free, confidential help with bills and debt exists in each country; the country block lists where to start.
My pay is different every week. Can I still budget?
Yes. Plan on a lower month rather than an average one, pay the bills that can’t move first, and put money from good weeks aside to cover slow ones. The handout has the steps.
Should I save or pay off debt first?
That depends on your debts and your situation, so it’s a question for a free, independent adviser rather than a general session. Many people keep a small cushion while making at least the required payments, so a surprise doesn’t become new debt.
Where is the safest place to keep savings?
Somewhere separate from your everyday spending, and somewhere protected. The country block explains what protects money held with a bank or credit union where you live, and what doesn’t.
Is a budgeting app better than paper?
Whatever you’ll actually use is best, and paper works well. We don’t recommend apps. If you use one, check what it does with your information, and only ever enter your online banking password on your bank’s own website or app.
Where you are teaching
The rules differ by country. Teach the shared material from the slides, then use the block for the country you are in, and hand out that country’s sheet.
United States
- Free money tools from the CFPB. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes Your Money, Your Goals, a free set of tools for organizations that help people with money. The materials can be downloaded and printed as handouts.
- Building an emergency fund. The CFPB’s guide to building an emergency fund covers how much to aim for, how to build it and where to keep it. It suggests setting up automatic recurring transfers from checking to savings.
- Insured savings. Deposits are automatically insured to at least $250,000 at each FDIC-insured bank. Members of a federally insured credit union have at least $250,000 in coverage through the NCUA. You can check a bank with the FDIC’s BankFind tool.
- Money left in a payment app. The CFPB says FDIC insurance generally does not apply to money that sits in a payment app unless you have signed up for additional services. It suggests moving money you receive into an insured bank or credit union account promptly.
United Kingdom
- Free debt advice. GOV.UK advises speaking to a debt adviser to help choose how to deal with debt, and points to MoneyHelper for information about free debt advice services.
- Breathing Space. A standard breathing space is available to anyone with problem debt. It gives legal protections from creditor action for up to 60 days, including pausing most enforcement action and contact from creditors and freezing most interest and charges. It can only be started by an FCA-authorised debt advice provider or a local authority.
- When income changes. GOV.UK lists independent, free and anonymous benefits calculators you can use to check what support you might get.
- Protected savings. If a UK-authorised bank, building society or credit union fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme compensates eligible savers up to £120,000 per person, per institution. Banks that share a licence share one limit.
Canada
- Budget Planner. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s Budget Planner lets you create a personalized budget and save it online. It gives tips and next steps, and shows charts of where your money is going.
- Setting up an emergency fund. The FCAC suggests keeping an emergency fund in a savings account separate from your day-to-day account, with no or low transaction fees and withdrawals without penalty. It suggests an automatic transfer set for the days you get paid.
- Insured deposits. The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insures eligible deposits at member institutions. Each deposit category is insured separately up to $100,000, including principal and interest. CDIC publishes a list of member institutions.
Australia
- Budget planner. Moneysmart, from ASIC, has a budget planner that helps you work out where your money is going. It saves your data on your own device, so it may be lost if you change device or clear your browser.
- Casual and irregular income. Moneysmart has a guide to managing money on a casual income, with suggestions to smooth out the highs and lows.
- Building an emergency fund. Moneysmart suggests a separate savings account for an emergency fund and an automatic transfer from the account your pay goes into, or asking your payroll to pay part of your wage straight into it.
- Free financial counselling. Financial counselling is a free and confidential service from not-for-profit community organisations. The National Debt Helpline is 1800 007 007, open 9:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
- Protected savings. Under the Financial Claims Scheme, deposits are protected up to $250,000 for each account holder at each bank, building society and credit union incorporated in Australia and authorised by APRA.