The topic of how to budget, or even what is budgeting, is a difficult and frustrating concept if no practical experience is occurring. To make this topic more tangible, and interactive, I began treating it like a game and created a format to be played over a simulated two month period.

Called “Life Happens Budgeting Game”, the purpose is to introduce real life situations that can occur and may need to be thought out before a decision is made, such as a friend asking to borrow money. The purpose is to begin the discussion of what money a person has coming in and what it’s used for during the month.  Some expenses players can see coming, such as the frequent stops for grocery shopping or end of the month rent, while other expenses are unexpected and can be spur of the moment, as demonstrated through the ‘Life Happens’ cards. Continue reading →