Tock's Money Smarts Book
Earn it, save it, spend it wisely.
What are money smarts?
Being smart with money means making good choices about earning, spending, saving and sharing.
Should you buy it now or save up? Is the big box really the better deal? Did you get the right change? Each of these is a little maths problem, and you already know most of the maths.
This book gives you eight money skills, from counting coins to watching savings grow. All the prices are in Australian dollars and cents.
How this book works
Every chapter has the same four parts.
- Read it. One big idea, with pictures.
- Try it. An activity you play right here on the screen.
- Away from the screen. A game for paper, pencils and friends.
- Quick check. Three questions. Get them all right to earn a star.
There are 9 stars to collect. Got a question wrong? No problem. Read the hint and have another go. That's how thinkers learn.
Choose a chapter
Chapter 1 · Money skill one
Count your coins
Money is a tool for swapping. Instead of trading three chickens for a bike, we use coins, notes and cards that everyone agrees are worth something.
Australia has six coins: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. There are 100 cents in one dollar. Notes are worth more: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.
We write money with a dollar sign and a decimal point. $3.45 means 3 dollars and 45 cents.
In maths: cents are hundredths
100 cents make $1, so 45c is 0.45 of a dollar.
$2.45 = 245 cents
Tap coins to make exactly the amount shown. Then try to do it with the fewest coins you can.
Away from the screen: home shop
You need: sticky notes, a pencil and some real or paper coins
Put price tags on five things at home, all under $5. Take turns being the shopper. Can you pay for each thing with the exact coins? Can you do it with the fewest coins?
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 2 · Money skill two
Needs and wants
You can't buy everything. Nobody can! So every money decision starts with one question: do I need it, or do I want it?
A need is something you must have to be safe and healthy, like food, water, a home, clothes and medicine. A want is something that is nice to have, like toys, lollies or the newest game.
Needs come first
- Food and water
- A safe home
- Clothes and shoes that fit
- Medicine
Wants come after
- Toys and games
- Lollies and treats
- The fancy version
- Extra ones you already have
Wants aren't bad. They're fun! But smart spenders pay for needs first, then pick their favourite wants with what is left.
In maths: choosing means comparing
With $10 you can't buy a $6 book and a $7 game, because together they cost more than you have.
6 + 7 = 13, and 13 > 10
Tock is writing a shopping list. Help sort each thing.
Away from the screen: trolley talk
You need: a supermarket catalogue or a trip to the shops
Choose ten things from the catalogue. Sort them into needs and wants. Then ask someone else to sort the same ten. Did you agree on all of them? Talk about the ones you didn't.
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 3 · Money skill three
Earn your money
Money doesn't come out of the wall. A cash machine only gives back money that somebody already earned.
Most money is earned by working, which means doing a job that helps someone. Grown-ups earn wages. Kids might earn pocket money for jobs, sell old toys, or run a stall.
If you get paid the same amount each time, earning is multiplication. $3 for each car you wash, and 4 cars washed, is 4 × 3 = $12.
In maths: earning is multiplying
Earnings = how much each time × how many times.
$4 an hour × 5 hours = $20
Work out what each job pays. You can type answers like 7 or 7.50.
Away from the screen: job board
You need: paper, a pencil and a grown-up to agree with
List five jobs you could do at home that aren't already your chores. Agree on a fair price for each one. Keep a record for two weeks: which jobs did you do, and how much did you earn?
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 4 · Money skill four
Check your change
You hand over $5 for a $3.20 snack. The shopkeeper hands some money back. That's your change, and it's your job to check it.
Shopkeepers often count up. Start at the price and add coins until you reach the amount that was paid.
Australia has no 1c or 2c coins. So when you pay with cash, the total is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. $4.98 becomes $5.00, and $4.92 becomes $4.90.
In maths: change is subtraction
Change = what you paid − the price. Counting up is just subtraction done forwards.
$10.00 − $6.40 = $3.60
Work out the change for each customer. Type dollars with a decimal point, like 2.50.
Away from the screen: play shop
You need: two people, five things to sell, and real or paper money
One of you is the shopkeeper. Price five things. The shopper always pays with a bit too much. The shopkeeper counts the change back out loud, starting from the price. Swap after five sales.
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 5 · Money skill five
Make a budget
A budget is a plan for your money. You decide where each dollar goes before it disappears.
A simple budget has three jars. Spend is for now. Save is for later. Share is for other people, like a gift or a charity. Every dollar you get goes into one of the jars.
The golden rule: the jars must add up to the money you have. You can't plan to use more than you've got.
In maths: budgets use fractions
Saving $5 out of every $20 is saving one quarter, because 5 is a quarter of 20.
20 ÷ 4 = 5
You have $20 of pocket money. Use the buttons to plan where it goes, then try the three challenges.
Challenges
- Give every dollar a job
- Save at least half
- Share $3 and still spend $9
Away from the screen: three real jars
You need: three jars or envelopes and some labels
Label them Spend, Save and Share. Next time you get some money, decide how to split it before you do anything else. Write your split on a note and tape it to the Save jar.
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 6 · Money skill six
Save for a goal
Want something that costs more than you have? You don't need magic. You need a goal and a bit of patience.
Saving means keeping some money now so you can use it later. Small amounts add up. $4 a week doesn't sound like much, but after 10 weeks it's $40.
To find how long a goal will take, divide the price by what you save each week. If it doesn't divide evenly, round up, because you can't buy it until you have enough.
In maths: saving is dividing
Weeks needed = goal ÷ weekly saving. A remainder means one more week.
28 ÷ 5 = 5 remainder 3, so 6 weeks
Choose a goal and how much to save each week. The graph shows your savings growing until you reach the goal.
My goal costs
Each week I save
Challenges
- Reach $35 in exactly 7 weeks
- Reach $50 in 8 weeks, saving as little each week as you can
Away from the screen: goal thermometer
You need: paper and coloured pencils
Pick something you'd like to save for and find out its price. Draw a tall thermometer and mark the price at the top. Each time you save, colour in a bit more. How many weeks do you think it will take?
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 7 · Money skill seven
Find the best buy
A bigger box isn't always the better deal. And a "SALE!" sign doesn't always mean cheap. Smart shoppers compare.
To compare two packs fairly, find the price of just one. Divide the price by the number of things in the pack. That is the unit price.
4 muesli bars for $6
6 ÷ 4 = $1.50 each
10 muesli bars for $12
12 ÷ 10 = $1.20 each
Better buy
But cheaper for each one is only a good deal if you'll use them all. Ten muesli bars that go stale are no bargain.
Sales use fractions and percentages. "Half price" means divide by 2. "25% off" means take away one quarter.
In maths: unit price is division
Unit price = price ÷ how many.
6 apples for $3 → 3 ÷ 6 = $0.50 each
Work out which deal costs less. Scrap paper is a smart shopper's best friend.
Away from the screen: catalogue challenge
You need: a supermarket catalogue or a trip to the shops
Find the same product in two different sizes. Work out the unit price of each. Was the bigger one cheaper per item? Find one where it isn't!
Quick checkEarn your star
Chapter 8 · Money skill eight
Watch it grow
Here is a strange and wonderful thing: money can earn money.
When you keep savings in a bank, the bank gets to use your money while you don't need it. To say thanks, it pays you a little extra, called interest. Interest is a percentage. 10% means $10 for every $100, each year.
The next year you earn interest on your savings and on last year's interest too. That is called compound interest, and it's why savings grow faster the longer you leave them.
| Year | Interest added | Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Start | $100.00 | |
| 1 | + $10.00 | $110.00 |
| 2 | + $11.00 | $121.00 |
| 3 | + $12.10 | $133.10 |
It works the other way too. When you borrow money, you are the one who pays interest. Borrow $100 at 10% for a year and you pay back $110. Borrowing costs money.
In maths: 10% is one tenth
To find 10% of a number, divide it by 10.
10% of $250 = $25
Pick a starting amount and an interest rate, then add years and watch the savings grow. Nothing extra is put in: the growth is all interest.
Start with
Interest each year
Years
Challenges
- At 10%, find the first year your money has doubled
- At 5%, find the first year your money has doubled
Away from the screen: the family bank
You need: a jar, some coins and a grown-up to be the bank
Put some money in the jar. Once a week, the bank pays 10% interest: 10c for every dollar in the jar. Write down the total each week for a month. Does the interest get bigger each time?
Quick checkEarn your star
The last chapter · Put it all together
The big money challenge
You now have all eight money skills. Here they are, with the question each one asks.
| Skill | Ask yourself |
|---|---|
| Count your coins | What is it worth altogether? |
| Needs and wants | Do I need it, or do I want it? |
| Earn your money | How could I earn it? |
| Check your change | Did I get the right change? |
| Make a budget | Where will each dollar go? |
| Save for a goal | How long until I reach my goal? |
| Find the best buy | What does one cost? |
| Watch it grow | What will this be worth later? |
Final testTen questions, every skill
Certificate of Money Smarts
This certificate is proudly given to
for learning to earn, save and spend wisely.
Look it up
Word bank
Every big word in this book, in plain language.
- Borrow
- To use someone else's money now and pay it back later, usually with interest.
- Budget
- A plan for your money, made before you spend it.
- Change
- The money you get back when you pay with more than the price.
- Discount
- Money taken off the usual price.
- Goal
- Something you are working towards.
- Income
- Money you receive, usually for doing work.
- Interest
- Extra money a bank pays on savings, or charges on money you borrow.
- Need
- Something you must have to be safe and healthy.
- Profit
- What is left after you pay for the things you used.
- Save
- To keep money now so you can use it later.
- Unit price
- The cost of one item, so you can compare packs fairly.
- Value
- What something is worth.
- Want
- Something that is nice to have, but you could live without.
Parents, carers and teachers
Notes for grown-ups
Money habits form early, and most of them are maths in disguise. This book uses Australian coins, notes and cash rounding, and keeps the amounts at pocket-money size.
All prices and interest rates are made up to keep the arithmetic friendly. They are teaching examples, not financial advice or a guide to real bank rates. Chapter 7 (percentages off) and chapter 8 (compound interest) are the most demanding and suit ages 9 and up.
How to use the book
- One chapter per sitting. Each takes about 15 to 25 minutes, plus the off-screen activity.
- Ages 7 to 8 will get more from it with someone reading alongside. Ages 9 to 12 can usually work alone.
- Chapters build on each other, so going in order works best.
- Wrong answers are part of it. Every quiz question explains itself and can be tried again.
- Stars are saved in this browser on this device. Clearing browser data may reset them.
What each chapter covers
| Chapter | Idea | Maths it connects to |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Count your coins | Coin and note values | Decimals, hundredths, adding money |
| 2. Needs and wants | Priorities and choices | Comparing amounts |
| 3. Earn your money | Income and profit | Multiplication, subtraction |
| 4. Check your change | Giving change, cash rounding | Subtracting decimals, rounding to 5c |
| 5. Make a budget | Planning with spend, save and share | Addition to a total, fractions |
| 6. Save for a goal | Saving over time | Division with remainders |
| 7. Find the best buy | Unit prices and discounts | Division, halves and quarters, percentages |
| 8. Watch it grow | Simple and compound interest | Percentages, repeated multiplication |