Week 3 · Youth & Families
Set a goal, predict the wait, and keep a plan you make with your family.
Saving isn't about depriving yourself — it's about giving yourself options. When you have money saved, you choose based on what you want, not just what you can afford right now. Every goal has a real price: the money and the wait. This week you'll measure both.
Pick something real you want. Before you do any math, guess how many weeks it takes to save for it. Then reveal the math and see how close you were — the gap is the lesson.
Saving is only half the question — what you save in matters too. Don't take our word for it. Play out ten years of saving in dollars, then check the alternative against live data.
Play it out: you save $1,000 you won't touch for 10 years. Where do you put it?
Inflation ~3%/yr (a long-run average) · savings account 0.5% · no asset-price claims — the live 21-million check is its own step below.
The plan you just built is yours. Print it or save it as a PDF, and put it where you'll see it. A goal you can look at is a goal you'll reach.
Bring a parent or guardian into your plan — this is how a goal becomes real.
When money comes in (job, allowance, birthday), move 10–20% to savings before you spend anything else.
Want something? Wait a day. If you still want it and it fits your plan, go for it.
Set up an automatic transfer to savings so you don't have to decide every time.