Economics · Unit 5

Earning, Spending and Saving

Personal money basics and budgeting

Personal finance is where economics stops being abstract, and the basic arithmetic is genuinely simple - the difficulty is behavioural.

The unit covers earning money, spending choices, saving, and making a budget.

This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 118 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 23
Questions: 118
Difficulty: 1-5

What this unit covers

Making a Budget
Earning Money
Saving
Choosing What to Buy
Spending

Where this fits

Follows Goods and Services. Personal Finance and Investing is the advanced version.

Where people slip

A budget that ignores irregular costs fails predictably. Annual and occasional expenses are what break otherwise sensible plans.

How the unit is structured

Earning, Spending and Saving runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 23 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 118 in the unit altogether.

Choosing What to Buy

Fill the blankLevel 1
1. Something you must have to live, like food and water, is a ____.
- needcorrect
- want
- toy
- game
A need is something you must have to live and stay healthy.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
2. Which of these is a NEED?
- Clean water to drinkcorrect
- A brand new video game
- A fancy stuffed toy
- A bag of candy
Clean water is something you must have to live, so it is a need.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
3. Which of these are NEEDS?
- Watercorrect
- Foodcorrect
- A place to livecorrect
- The newest sneakers
- A game console
Water, food, and shelter keep you alive, while sneakers and a console are wants.
Odd one outLevel 2
4. Which of these is NOT a need?
- A shiny new phone gamecorrect
- Food to eat
- Clean water
- A safe place to sleep
A phone game is fun but not needed to live, so it is a want, not a need.
Sort into groupsLevel 2
5. Sort each item as a Need or a Want.
Answer: Water = Need; Food = Need; A warm coat = Need; A new toy = Want; A video game = Want; Candy = Want
Needs keep you alive and healthy, while wants are extras that are nice to have.
Put in orderLevel 5
6. When money is tight, order these expenses from most essential (pay first) to least essential.
Answer: Rent for your home -> Food and groceries -> Paying off debt you owe -> A streaming subscription for fun
Housing and food come first, then paying off debt, and a fun subscription last.

Earning Money

Fill the blankLevel 1
7. Money you get for doing work or a job is called ____.
- incomecorrect
- homework
- weather
- sleep
Income is the money you receive from working.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
8. Which of these is a way to earn money?
- Walking a neighbor's dog for paycorrect
- Watching TV all afternoon
- Sleeping in late
- Losing a toy under the bed
You can earn money by doing helpful work for other people, like walking their dog.
True or falseLevel 1
9. Income is the money you earn.
Answer: True
Income means the money that comes to you from working or a job.
Type the answerLevel 1
10. A person who does a job for money is called a ____.
Answer: worker
A worker is someone who does a job to earn money.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
11. Which of these people are earning money?
- A teacher paid to teach a classcorrect
- A baker selling loaves of breadcorrect
- A child playing at the park
- A person taking a nap
People earn money when they are paid to work, like a teacher or a baker who sells bread.
Odd one outLevel 2
12. Which one is NOT a way to earn money?
- Getting a birthday giftcorrect
- Mowing lawns for pay
- Doing chores for an allowance
- Selling lemonade at a stand
A birthday gift is money given to you, not money you earned by working.

Making a Budget

Choose all that applyLevel 2
13. Which of these things might be in a simple budget?
- Money you earncorrect
- Money you spend on snackscorrect
- Money you savecorrect
- The weather today
- Your favorite color
A budget lists the money you earn, spend, and save, not things like the weather.
Fill the blankLevel 2
14. A plan for the money coming in and going out is called a ____.
- budgetcorrect
- balloon
- basket
- bridge
A budget plans both the money you receive and the money you spend.
Match the pairsLevel 2
15. Match each budget word to its meaning.
Answer: Income = Money coming in; Expenses = Money going out; Savings = Money kept for later; Budget = A plan for your money
A budget uses income, expenses, and savings to plan your money.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
16. A budget shows two main things. What are they?
- Money coming in and money going outcorrect
- Only how much candy you eat
- The color of your wallet
- The time of day
A budget tracks money coming in (what you get) and money going out (what you spend).
Put in orderLevel 2
17. Put these budgeting steps in a sensible order, first to last.
Answer: See how much money you have -> Plan what to spend and save -> Spend or save the money -> Check what is left over
First see what you have, plan it, use the money, then check what is left.
Sort into groupsLevel 3
18. Sort each monthly budget item as Income or Expense.
Answer: Paycheck from a job = Income; Rent payment = Expense; Groceries = Expense; Side job pay = Income; Phone bill = Expense
A paycheck and side job pay come in as income, while rent, groceries, and a phone bill go out as expenses.

Saving

Fill the blankLevel 1
19. Keeping some of your money to use later is called ____.
- savingcorrect
- spending
- earning
- eating
Saving means setting money aside for the future.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
20. What does it mean to save money?
- To keep money to use latercorrect
- To spend it all right now
- To throw it in the trash
- To lose it on purpose
Saving means keeping some of your money to use at a later time.
True or falseLevel 1
21. A piggy bank is a place to save money.
Answer: True
A piggy bank holds coins you are keeping for later, which is saving.
Guess the numberLevel 2
22. If you save 1 coin every day, how many coins will you have after 7 days?
Answer: 7 coins
One coin a day for 7 days adds up to 7 coins.
Odd one outLevel 2
23. Which of these does NOT help you save?
- Spending every coin right awaycorrect
- Putting coins in a jar
- Keeping money in a bank
- Skipping a treat to keep the money
Spending every coin right away is the opposite of saving.
Put in orderLevel 2
24. Put these saving steps in order, from first to last.
Answer: Set a savings goal -> Save a little each week -> Watch your savings grow -> Buy the thing you saved for
First set a goal, save regularly, watch it grow, then buy what you saved for.

Spending

Fill the blankLevel 1
25. Using your money to buy something is called ____.
- spendingcorrect
- saving
- earning
- sleeping
Spending is using money to buy goods or services.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
26. What does it mean to spend money?
- To use money to buy thingscorrect
- To keep money forever and never use it
- To earn money at a job
- To only count your money
Spending means using your money to buy things you need or want.
True or falseLevel 1
27. When you buy a snack at the shop, you are spending money.
Answer: True
Buying a snack means giving money to get it, which is spending.
Match the pairsLevel 2
28. Match each thing you buy with a place you might spend money to get it.
Answer: Bread = Bakery; Medicine = Pharmacy; A book = Bookstore; A toy = Toy shop
Different shops sell different things, so you spend money at the shop that has what you need.
Odd one outLevel 2
29. Which of these is NOT an example of spending money?
- Putting coins in your piggy bankcorrect
- Buying an ice cream cone
- Paying for a bus ticket
- Buying a new book
Putting coins in your piggy bank is saving, not spending.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
30. Which habits can help you spend less money?
- Comparing pricescorrect
- Waiting for a salecorrect
- Making a list before shoppingcorrect
- Buying on impulse
- Ignoring the price tag
Comparing prices, waiting for sales, and making a list all help you spend less.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Choose all that apply
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Put in order
Sort into groups
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Earning, Spending and Saving

118 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

More units in Economics

See all 18 units in Economics →