Budgeting · Budget Planner
MI Budget Planner
A monthly budget workspace students build, save, and come back to. Each month they plan their income, needs, wants, and savings, set a savings goal, then track what they actually spent against their plan — returning to it session after session and month after month. No scores and no surprise cards: it’s their own editable budget. Practice money only, completely separate from real MI Bank and Classroom Economy balances.
The Workspace
A budget students actually keep
Instead of a one-time activity, the Budget Planner gives each student a real, ongoing budget they own. They add their income, plan their needs, wants, and savings, and set a savings goal — then come back through the month to fill in what they actually spent and compare it to their plan. When a new month begins, they can start fresh or carry last month’s plan forward, while finished months stay as read-only history they can look back on.
What makes it classroom-ready
- Return session to session. Everything saves automatically — students pick up exactly where they left off.
- Plan vs. actual. Students track what really happened against their plan and see the difference.
- Month to month. A new month rolls over with optional copy-forward; past months become read-only history.
- Assign & review in a few clicks. Assign it to a class, pick a month, and open each student’s budget and reflections.
- Practice money only. Every number is student-entered and stays in the planner, separate from MI Bank and Classroom Economy balances.
- Shame-free by design. No score and no “you failed” — just a plan, real numbers, and reflection.
Sign in with your Money Instructor account — full membership required to run a classroom.
See It In Action
What students build — and what you review
Real screens from the MI Budget Planner. Every amount is fictional practice money students enter — nothing here touches real MI Bank or Classroom Economy balances.
For students
The budget workspace
Income, needs, wants, savings, a savings goal, and plan-vs-actual tracking — all saved automatically so students pick up where they left off.
For teachers
The class dashboard
See who has started and finished at a glance, pick any month, and open each student’s budget and reflections — read-only.
How It Works
How to use the Budget Planner
Two simple flows — one for students, one for you. Assign it once, and students keep the same budget open all month and into the next.
What students do
- 1. Start the month. Open their budget for the current month from their dashboard.
- 2. Build it. Add income, then plan needs, wants, and savings — watching what’s left to plan.
- 3. Set a goal & notes. Choose a savings goal to work toward and jot down their thinking.
- 4. Track actuals. Come back through the month to fill in what they actually spent versus planned.
- 5. Complete & reflect. Mark the month done and answer short reflection questions — then keep editing or roll into next month.
What teachers do
- 1. Assign it. From the Budget Planner area, assign it to a class in a few clicks.
- 2. Pick a month. Use the month selector to view any period the class has worked on.
- 3. Monitor progress. A class summary shows who has entered income, set a goal, and completed the month.
- 4. Review & discuss. Open each student’s budget and reflections (read-only) and use the debrief prompts.
Which One Do I Use?
Budget Planner or Budget Simulator?
Two budgeting tools that work well together. Use the Simulator for a fast, gamified introduction, then the Planner for ongoing, real budgeting practice students keep.
MI Budget Planner
- An editable, persistent budget students own and update
- Students build their own income, needs, wants, and savings
- Plan vs. actual tracking through the month
- Runs month to month with copy-forward + read-only history
- No score — reflection and discussion
- Best for: ongoing budgeting habits and real-world practice
MI Life Budget Simulator
- A one-period, scored challenge — the Paycheck to Paycheck Challenge
- Students work through a pre-built month and profile
- Surprise event cards and consequences
- A single simulated month, finished in one session
- A shame-free 0–100 score and report
- Best for: a fast, engaging intro to budgeting trade-offs
A natural pairing: run the Budget Simulator first to spark the conversation, then have students keep their own budget in the Budget Planner. Both use practice money only and never touch real MI Bank or Classroom Economy balances.
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- How to build a monthly budget from their own income
- The difference between needs, wants, and savings
- How to set a savings goal and plan money toward it
- How to track what they actually spent and compare it to their plan
- How to adjust a budget month to month as circumstances change
- How to reflect on money decisions and explain the trade-offs they made
Teacher Q&A
Common questions about the Budget Planner
What is the MI Budget Planner?
It is a persistent monthly-budget workspace inside Money Instructor Classroom. Each student builds their own budget — income, needs, wants, and savings — sets a savings goal, tracks what they actually spent, and reflects. Unlike a one-time activity, it saves automatically so students return to it session after session and month after month.
How is it different from the Budget Simulator?
The Budget Simulator is a one-period, scored challenge with a pre-built month and surprise events — great for a fast, engaging introduction. The Budget Planner is an ongoing, editable budget students build themselves and keep updating, with plan-vs-actual tracking and month-to-month history. Many teachers use the Simulator to introduce the ideas, then the Planner for real practice.
Does it use real money or affect MI Bank and Classroom Economy balances?
No. Every number in the planner is fictional practice money that the student enters. It never touches your students’ MI Bank accounts or any Classroom Economy balances — those are completely separate.
How do my students access it?
Once you assign it to your class, a tile appears on each student’s dashboard. Students sign in at classroom.moneyinstructor.com with your class code and their PIN — no email or account required.
How do I assign it and review student budgets?
Use the Teacher sign-in button, open the Budget Planner area, and assign it to a class. A dashboard shows each student’s progress — income entered, savings goal set, month completed — and lets you open any student’s budget and reflections, read-only. A month selector lets you review earlier months, and you can close or reopen the assignment anytime.
Do I need to set up a classroom economy first?
No. The Budget Planner works for any class, including a plain bank-only class — it is separate from the optional Classroom Economy, so there is nothing extra to switch on.
What grade levels is it for?
It is designed for middle and high school — Grades 6–12 — in personal finance, life skills, and consumer math classes. Because students build and keep their own budget, it works well as a recurring routine across a unit or semester.
How do I get it?
The Budget Planner is included with a full Money Instructor membership. Sign in with your Money Instructor account to run a classroom — there is no separate password. New to the platform? Start with the Money Instructor Classroom overview.
Teach budgeting as part of a full personal-finance curriculum
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More Budgeting resources
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MI Life Budget Simulator
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Younger students learn what a budget is, sort needs from wants, and build a simple weekly personal budget.
Lesson · Grades 3 850/30/20 Rule Lesson
Students learn the 50/30/20 budgeting rule — 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings and debt — and how to apply and adapt it to their income.
Video Lesson · Grades 7–12Printables & worksheet tools