Students investigate how everyday financial choices affect whether they can realistically live, respond to emergencies, and still save over time. They build and revise linear equations for income and expenses, test those plans against real-life curveballs, and use tables, graphs, and multi-year calculations to compare options. The learning experience culminates in a public showcase where students present a budget portfolio and defend which choices best balance needs, wants, and long-term savings.

Students will build and use linear equations to model income and expenses, including variables such as roommates, transportation choices, utilities, and subscription costs. They will compare budget plans with tables, graphs, and multi-year calculations to determine which choices best balance needs, wants, and long-term savings. Students will revise their plans after peer critique and financial curveballs, then justify their final decisions in a portfolio, exhibition conversation, and reflection interview using clear mathematical and financial reasoning.

Students create a first-pass team budget plan at launch, including a linear equation, table, and quick graph based on their chosen job, housing, transportation, utilities, groceries, and hobby. Mid-project, they produce a draft portfolio and display it in a gallery walk so peers can leave sticky-note feedback about cost-saving choices, financial risks, and needed revisions. By the end, each student completes a digital or paper portfolio with the finalized budget sheet, monthly/yearly/multi-year calculations, curveball scenario responses, graphs, and a short written justification of their revised decisions. They present this work at exhibition stations during the Survival Savings Showcase, where visitors leave comments on which plans best balance needs, wants, and long-term savings.

Open with a Budget Bootcamp Kickoff where teams rotate through timed stations to pick a job, housing, transportation, phone/internet, groceries, and one hobby, then build a first-pass monthly and yearly linear equation for surviving on that plan. At each station, add surprise choice cards such as roommate splits, move-in fees, commute limits, or utility costs so students immediately see how one decision changes the whole budget. Close with a quick team share of which plan seems most realistic, which plan seems risky, and what questions they need to answer to create a budget that protects long-term savings.

Host a Survival Savings Showcase where students set up exhibition stations with their digital or paper portfolios, including budget sheets, linear equations, multi-year calculations, graphs, and revised decisions after curveball scenarios. Visitors rotate through the stations, review each plan, and leave sticky-note feedback about which choices best balance needs, wants, and long-term savings and which decisions still seem risky. Have students give a brief presentation at their station explaining how their budget changed after the mid-project gallery walk critique and why their final plan is more sustainable. End with a reflection exit interview or short recorded response in which students compare their first and final decisions and name the strongest strategy for surviving financially over time.