Borrowing

Before we start

Five minutes before Lesson 1, no scoring.

1. 1. You borrow €10 and pay back €12. What did borrowing cost?
2. 2. Name one good reason and one risky reason to borrow.
3. 3. How would you check that you can actually pay money back?

Lesson 1. The amount back matters

Goldie · 45 min · Compare amount borrowed with total amount repaid.

1. Extra cost A?
2. Total B?
3. Extra cost B?
4. Which costs less under the stated terms and by how much?

Lesson 2. Borrowing has a price

Goldie · 45 min · Show that borrowing usually costs extra, and that the extra is the price of having the money now.

1. How much extra do you pay on Offer X?
2. What is the total you repay on Offer X?
3. The friend lends €10 and you repay €10 — what does that loan cost?
4. What should you always ask before you agree to borrow?

Lesson 3. Worth borrowing for?

Penny · 45 min · Decide whether a reason to borrow is an urgent need or a want that could wait and be saved for.

1. Which card is a need?
2. Which card can wait?
3. Saving €5 each week, how many weeks to reach €15 for the toy?
4. For a want that can wait, what is one question to ask yourself before borrowing?

Lesson 4. Could the plan actually work?

Cash · 45 min · Test whether repayments fit money already expected.

1. Money left after supplies each week?
2. Repayment shortfall each week?
3. Total shortfall over four weeks?
4. Suggest a safe project change.

Final mission. Goldie's borrow-smart checklist

Goldie · 45 min · Use a four-question checklist to decide well about borrowing, and apply it to one fictional offer.

1. What is the total you would repay on the offer?
2. What does the saving route cost in total, and how is it worked out?
3. Which checklist question does the offer fail, and why?
4. Which checklist question do you think matters most, and why?

Extension. Borrow, save, or change the goal?

Penny · 45 min · Compare time, cost and flexibility for a fictional non-urgent purchase.

1. Weeks to save?
2. Extra cost of borrowing A?
3. What does sharing supplies give up or require?
4. Choose for a project needed tomorrow, then for a project in two months, and explain.

Extension. Small payments, long time

Goldie · 45 min · Show that a smaller weekly payment can hide a bigger total and a much longer time.

1. What is the total repaid under Plan A?
2. What is the total repaid under Plan B?
3. How much more does Plan B cost than Plan A?
4. Why is "the smaller weekly payment" not always the cheaper choice?

Extension. When a payment is missed

Cash · 45 min · Show that a missed repayment can add a fee, and that the first safe step is to tell a trusted adult early rather than borrow more.

1. What is the normal weekly repayment?
2. With the €3 late fee, what does the missed week 3 cost in total?
3. Why can borrowing more money to cover a missed payment be risky?
4. What is the first safe step to take when you cannot pay on time?

Extension. A promise between friends

Penny · 45 min · Show that borrowing between people works on a clear, fair agreement that is written down and kept.

1. Name three things a fair agreement should state.
2. Penny repays €6 in two equal weekly parts — how much is each part?
3. Why does writing the agreement down help both friends?
4. What is a kind way to speak up early if you cannot repay on time?

My money reflection

A quiet close to the month.

1. A time borrowing would be worth it — and a time it wouldn't…
2. Why the total repaid matters more than the amount borrowed…
3. One question from the borrow-smart checklist I'll remember…

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.