Investing

Before we start

Five minutes before Lesson 1, no scoring.

1. 1. What do you think it means to 'own a share' of a company?
2. 2. Is it safer to put everything in one place or spread it out? Why?
3. 3. Someone promises your money will double for sure. Do you believe it? Why?

Lesson 1. A tiny piece of a company

Tally · 45 min · Explain a share as a small ownership interest and distinguish sales from profit in a simplified example with one stated cost.

1. Calculate sales.
2. Calculate profit under this exercise's assumption that materials are the only cost.
3. Does one of ten tokens automatically earn €1.20? Explain why not.
4. Name one additional real-world cost or reason a company value might change.

Lesson 2. Shares, funds and cash

Tally · 45 min · Compare cash, a single share and a fund, and match each to a fictional need without recommending any product.

1. Which holding is steadiest for next week's bus fare?
2. Which single holding has the biggest ups and downs?
3. Does a fund remove the chance of loss?
4. Match "a bike in three years" to a holding and say why.

Lesson 3. One garden or many?

Goldie · 45 min · Explain diversification as spreading exposure, while retaining the possibility of loss.

1. Draw a one-company basket and a three-company basket.
2. Which is more exposed to a book-only problem?
3. What happens in the all-shops storm?
4. Correct “A fund guarantees safety.”

Lesson 4. Not a straight line

Goldie · 45 min · Show that an investment's value can go up and down over time, so growth is never smooth or promised.

1. Plot the six values: 100, 110, 105, 120, 115, 130.
2. Between which two steps did it fall?
3. Is the end higher or lower than the start, and by how much?
4. Why is "it always goes up" wrong?

Final mission. Money you can leave alone

Tally · 45 min · Use a simple checklist to decide whether money could face uncertainty, focusing on time, understanding and affordability of loss.

1. Which pot should stay completely safe, and why?
2. Run the €50 "someday" pot through the three questions.
3. If you do not understand something, what should you do?
4. Why is "only money I can leave alone" a good rule?

Extension. Time, risk and fees

Goldie · 45 min · Match a fictional goal's time horizon to the need for certainty, without recommending a financial product.

1. Start with 10 game tokens. Calculate the ending after a gain of 3 and a fee of 1.
2. Calculate the ending after no change and a fee of 1.
3. Calculate the ending after a loss of 4 and a fee of 1.
4. Which outcome threatens next month's trip? Why is time alone not a guarantee?

Extension. What could go wrong?

Goldie · 45 min · Name the real risks of investing — value falling, a company struggling, and needing the money at a bad time.

1. A €100 holding falls 20%. What is it worth now?
2. If you must sell during that dip, what do you get?
3. Name one way to lower the chance of being forced to sell low.
4. Why is investing money you need next week risky?

Extension. Too good to be true

Tally · 45 min · Spot unrealistic investment promises and treat guaranteed high returns as a warning.

1. Which offer is honest about uncertainty?
2. List two red flags in offer A.
3. Why is "guaranteed 50% every month" not believable?
4. What is a safe first step when you see a big money promise?

Extension. A share of the profit — or not

Goldie · 45 min · Explain that owners may receive a share of profit only if there is profit and the owners decide, so returns are never guaranteed.

1. Year 1 profit is €12 across 10 tokens. If all is shared, how much per token?
2. Year 2 profit is €0. How much per token now?
3. Does owning a token guarantee a payment every year?
4. Why might owners choose to reinvest profit instead of sharing it?

My money reflection

A quiet close to the month.

1. What owning a tiny piece of a company means to me…
2. Why spreading things out can lower risk…
3. A promise about money I'd now be careful about…

Cut-out coins

Play money for the lessons and the mission — fictional, for practice only. Cut along the dashed circles; print one page per pair for extra coins.