This document outlines the interactive quest "BudgetQuest" which teaches 11th and 12th grade students about creating a budget and living independently. In the quest, students take on the role of a recent college graduate who is pushed by their mother to move out on their own. They must complete a series of mini-quests like finding a job, buying a car and renters insurance, and dealing with unexpected expenses. The goal is for students to end up with a fleshed out budget and understanding of financial responsibilities after completing the simulation.

1. BUDGETQUEST
An interactive quest by Adam Gleim

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