Life Skills
Life Skills Worksheets and Lesson Plans for Teachers
Practical worksheets and lesson plans for teaching everyday money skills — spending decisions, earning money, paychecks, and managing income in real life. Grades K–12 and adult education. The same life skills math worksheets are used as functional money skills in special education and transition classrooms.
About This Section
This section brings together MoneyInstructor life skills lesson plans, worksheets, and activities for teaching everyday money skills — spending decisions, earning income, paychecks, and managing money in real life — for Grades K–12 and adult education.
You’ll find free lesson plans, video lessons, and member-supported worksheets to help students build practical financial habits — making spending decisions, reading a paycheck, planning allowances, and managing income.
Teaching these skills on an IEP or in a transition program? The same life skills math worksheets are curated by life domain — coin skills, daily money choices, real-world banking and paycheck — on the special education money skills page, with a suggested rotation and notes by student profile.
In the Classroom
Money & life skills for every age
From counting coins in the early grades to budgeting a paycheck and moving out in high school — practical money skills for Grades K–12 and adult learners.
Featured Resources
Life skills resources for the classroom
A progression of worksheets and lesson plans covering everyday money skills — from counting coins and making change through everyday spending, earning a paycheck, and the major financial decisions of adult life.
Counting Money & Coins
Daily Nutritional Needs Worksheet Generator
Make daily-nutritional-needs worksheets — students add and compare food-label percentages to solve real nutrition word problems, with a built-in answer key.
Full Members · Generator
Counting Money
A teacher’s guide to counting coins, bills, and mixed amounts — with a clear teaching sequence and printable worksheets.
Grades K–4 · Lesson + Worksheets
Counting Coins
Add up mixed coins to find the total — a customizable worksheet generator for early money math.
Grades K–3 · Worksheet Generator
Coin Identification
Name each coin and know its value — penny, nickel, dime, and quarter — the very first money skill.
Grades K–2 · Worksheet Generator
Making Change
Count up and subtract to make change from a purchase — the everyday register math behind buying and paying.
Grades 2–5 · Lesson + GeneratorConsumer Skills Foundations
Needs vs. Wants
A worksheet helping students understand the difference between needs and wants — a foundational consumer decision-making skill.
Grades K–8
Cost Comparison & Unit Pricing
An introductory lesson on comparing prices and value — connecting consumer math skills to real purchasing decisions.
Grades 6–12Everyday Spending
Restaurant Menu Word Problems
Read a restaurant menu, total an order, calculate change — basic consumer math applied to a familiar dining-out setting.
Grades 3+
Restaurant Tipping
Calculate the tip at a restaurant — 15–20% of the pre-tax bill, the dollar tip, and the total paid. Pairs naturally with Restaurant Menu.
Grades 6+
Grocery Shopping with Coupons
An introduction to coupons and the math of saving money at the grocery store — plus the most important caveat: coupons only save money on things you would have bought anyway.
Grades 4+
Paying Bills
Paying monthly bills with check writing and checkbook-register practice — built for life-skills classes, special education, and adult learners.
Grades 7+ · AdultGrocery & Food Skills
Shopping List
Using a shopping list — the everyday money-management skill of writing down what you need before going to the store and staying within budget. Customizable practice worksheet.
Grades 6+ · Adult
Food Shopping Word Problems
A simple grocery list with prices — students calculate how much was spent. Two versions: standard pricing and modern (updated) pricing.
Grades 4+ · Special Ed
Grocery Math (Produce)
Price-per-pound and price-per-item math at the grocery store, with worked examples (bananas, tomatoes, apples) that connect arithmetic to real shopping.
Grades 4–7 · Special Ed
Cooking with Recipes
Reading recipes and scaling servings up or down using a conversion multiple — the multiplication, division, and fraction math behind cooking from scratch.
Grades 6+ · Special EdEarning Money & Paychecks
What is a Paycheck?
A video lesson introducing paychecks and pay stubs — what they show, how to read them, and what the deductions mean.
Grades 6–12
Earnings Statement
A worksheet where students practice reading and interpreting a pay stub — including gross pay, deductions, and net income.
Grades 6–12
Time Card Worksheet
Calculating work hours and pay from a time card — the input side of every hourly paycheck. Customizable worksheet generator.
Grades 5–12
Health Insurance & Payroll Deductions
How health insurance and other payroll deductions reduce a worker’s take-home pay — the gross-to-net math on a real pay stub.
Grades 9–12
Earning Money Word Problems
A taxi-driver-themed worksheet — fares, expenses, and optional percentage tips. A real-world way to teach earning math beyond the hourly model.
Grades 4+Major Life Decisions
Renting & Major Purchases Unit
A complete 5-day classroom unit: housing options, reading a lease, the cash it takes to move in, what a place really costs every month once the bills arrive, and the true cost of keeping a car. Free pacing guide.
Grades 9–12 & Adult Ed · 5-Day Unit · Free Pacing Guide
Understanding Credit & Debt
A print-and-do lesson set: interest & APR, the credit-card minimum-payment trap, reading a statement, credit scores, and the true cost of a loan. Three leveled worksheets, an answer key, and a Credit Calculator.
Grades 9–12 · 14-page packet + calculator · Free Sample / Member Packet
Understanding Social Security
A print-and-do lesson set: how the payroll tax funds Social Security, full retirement age, and how claiming at 62, full retirement age, or 70 changes the monthly check, the lifetime total, and the break-even age. Three leveled worksheets, an answer key, and a Social Security Calculator.
Grades 9–12 · 13-page packet + calculator · Free Sample / Member Packet
Renting an Apartment
Read sample apartment ads and compare rentals on monthly rent, utilities, location, and amenities — the practical math behind a major adulting decision.
Grades 7+
Buying a Car
Car-loan basics — cash price, down payment, monthly payment, and finance charges. Read sample car ads and work the math behind financing a major purchase.
Grades 7+Basic Skills on InstructorWeb
Telling time, calendars & basic math
Our sister site InstructorWeb has printable K–3 basic-skills worksheets that pair naturally with early money and life-skills lessons.
Telling Time
Reading clocks — hours, half hours, and quarter hours. Printable worksheets for grades K–3.
Calendar Skills
Days, weeks, and months — reading a calendar and solving calendar word problems.
Basic Math Worksheets
Arithmetic, place value, fractions, and more — the number skills behind money math.
All InstructorWeb Resources
Worksheets and lesson plans across reading, writing, math, science, and more.
Grade Level Guide
Life skills resources by grade level
Counting coins and bills, identifying money, making change, and basic spending concepts.
Needs vs. wants, spending decisions, allowances, earning basics, and introduction to paychecks.
Paychecks, earnings statements, income management, paying bills, and real-world consumer skills.
Practical money management, paying bills, renting, side income, and everyday financial independence.
These resources are part of the full MoneyInstructor library
Members get unlimited access to worksheets, lesson plans, and teacher resources across every financial literacy topic — life skills, budgeting, taxes, banking, and more.
Related Topics
More financial literacy resources
Housing
Renting and buying a home — comparing apartment ads and leases, down payments and mortgages, and the budget for a first place of your own.
Consumer Math
The spending half of life skills in one place — groceries, restaurants, receipts, coupons, discounts and big purchases.
Budgeting
Income, expenses, needs vs. wants, and personal budget planning.
Banking
Checking, savings, online banking, and account management basics.
Career Readiness
Job applications, pay stubs, earnings, and workplace money skills.
Money Skills by Grade
Grade-level pathways from Pre-K through adult education.
Taxes
Paychecks, W-4 and W-2 forms, and filing basics for students.
Money Math
Counting money, making change, percentages, and consumer math.
Counting Money
Coins, bills, and counting money — the foundational skill, from Pre-K up.
Making Change
Counting back change and the everyday register math of buying and paying.
Special Education Money Skills
Functional money lessons grouped by life domain for IEP goals and transition programs.
Free Interactive Money Games
Dozens of free browser games — counting money, making change, budgeting, and more.