Income and Expense Statements

Income and expense statements are a great way for students to learn and apply the skills involved in keeping a budget and calculating whether their expenses are more than their income (net loss) or less than their income (net gain). Part of creating an income and expense statement is knowing how to categorize expenses so when students need to evaluate where they can make changes to increase their net gain or decrease their net loss, they are able to see what categories need adjustment and how much of their income is going towards each category. Using a lesson from the Financial Fitness for Life publication along with a lesson from the University of Arizona Take Charge Personal Finance curriculum students will learn about income and expense statements by participating in activities that simulate the process of creating one, and the calculation involved in determining a net loss or a net gain.