2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Title of Activity: BudgetQuest
Target Audience: 11th–12th Grade
Required Materials:
This presentation
BudgetQuest worksheets
Calculator
3. THE SETUP
You are a 22-year old who graduated from
college two months ago.
Summer is coming to a close, and you hear
a knock at your door…
4. THE KNOCK
It’s your mother, and she wants to know
when you’ll be moving out on your own!
5. THE QUEST
Pushed out by your mom, you are forced to
embark on a quest so terrifying, there’s a
trademark symbol at the end of it!
Welcome to…
6. DIRECTIONS FOR QUEST COMPLETION
Throughout BudgetQuest, you will complete
a series of mini-quests that will move you
towards your ultimate goal: moving out of
your parents’ house and starting a life of
your own
More details on each mini-quest can be
found on your BudgetQuest worksheet
You must fully complete a mini-quest before
moving on to the next mini-quest
7. MINI-QUEST #1 – FIND A JOB
Step one: make yourself marketable
Create a LinkedIn profile
Create and upload your resume to Indeed.com
and one other job searching site of your choice
Step two: apply for jobs
Apply for at least two jobs that you would be
qualified for
Follow each application with a personal phone
call to the organization
8. MINI-QUEST #2 – THE JOB INTERVIEW
Attend both job interviews you get invited to
When offered one (or both) jobs, decide which
job you would like
Consider all financial/benefit information provided
to you
Use your BudgetQuest worksheet to help guide
your decision-making process
When you accept a job, copy the financial info
from the job sheet to your BudgetQuest
worksheet
9. MAJOR QUEST #1 – CREATE A “SKELETON”
BUDGET!
Now that you have secured a job, you will
create your first draft of a budget
Using the information provided to you by Mr.
Gleim’s proprietary “scenario generator”,
complete the Budget Draft #1 worksheet
10. MINI-QUEST #3 – FIND A PLACE TO LIVE
Step one: begin your search
Use a website like Apartments.com (or another site
of your choice)
You must stay within the amount of money allotted
to you by the scenario generator (see Budget Draft
#1 for details)
Step two: visit the apartment
Step three: review all components of the lease
Step four: move in!
11. MINI-QUEST #4 – GET RENTER’S INSURANCE
Using the insurance company website of
your choice, get a quote for renter’s
insurance and add that to your Budget Draft
#1 worksheet
12. MINI-QUEST #5 – BUY A CAR
Since your apartment is a sizeable distance
away from work, you’ll have to buy a car.
Again, reference the information from the
scenario generator to see how much you
car you can afford
Step one – do your research
Visit Cars.com or a similar website
Step two – figure out financing options
Buy or lease? Visit the link on your Budget
worksheet to crunch the numbers
13. ROAD BUMP #1…
While out shopping for a car, your
apartment was broken into.
You’ve got renter’s insurance, right?
Using the information on the handout, file a
claim with your insurance company to
recover the value of the missing items
14. MINI-QUEST #6 – GET AUTO INSURANCE
Using the auto insurer of your choice, obtain
a quote for your car and purchase the
insurance
15. ROAD BUMP #2…
Can you believe your luck? On the way
home from work, you get into a very minor
“fender bender” that was your fault.
Is it worth it to get insurance involved?
Using the site listed on your handout,
determine if the better move is to pay for the
repairs out of your pocket.
16. MAJOR QUEST #2 – REVIEW YOUR
SKELETON BUDGET
Time for some tough decisions – will you set
money aside each month to save for various
short and long-term goals?
Follow the instructions on Budget
Worksheet #2 to turn your “skeleton” budget
into a fleshed-out (get it? Flesh?) version
17. MINI-QUEST #7 – THE END…
Congratulations! You’ve gotten a small
taste of what it’s like to create and follow a
budget
Write two paragraphs explaining what you
learned from completing BudgetQuest