Curriculum / Financial Literacy / module 1

Your First Real Budget

By OSH Founding Team✓ Verified by OSH Review Panel

The learner tracks all money in and out for one real month, then builds and follows a simple three-jar budget: spend, save, give.

Parent guide (what to say and do)

Give the learner a real monthly allowance or account for money they genuinely receive. Week one is tracking only, no judgment: every rupee in and out gets one written line. Week two, introduce the three jars: spend, save, give, and let the learner choose percentages. Weeks three and four, live the budget. Month's end conversation: 'Where did the money actually go? What surprised you?' Your honesty about your own budgeting struggles is the most powerful teaching material available.

Learning material

Money tracker sheet (platform library)
Three-jar budget guide
Story set: real examples of debt spirals and savings wins

Practical exercises and activities

Daily: one-line money log. Weekly: ten-minute jar review. Challenge: find a cheaper alternative for one regular expense and bank the difference. Group: pod learners compare percentages and defend their choices.

Materials required

Three jars or envelopes, a notebook, and real money the learner already receives.

Assessment checkpoints

One complete tracked month, a jar split the learner can justify, and a stated savings goal with the first deposit made.

Learn with AI

Ready-made prompts for this module. Copy one into your AI assistant and it becomes a patient tutor that follows the OSH method: no lecturing, no rote learning, hands-on activities included.

For the student

A tutor that teaches this module step by step, asks questions, and never just gives answers.

For the parent or teacher

A coach that helps you prepare, deliver, and troubleshoot this lesson.

How to set this up in ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude

ChatGPT: Open ChatGPT → press your profile → My GPTs → Create a GPT → paste the prompt into Instructions → name it after the module → save for repeated lessons. Or simply paste the prompt at the start of a new chat.

Gemini: Open Gemini → Gems panel → New Gem → paste the prompt into the instructions box → name it after the module → save. The Gem stays available for every study session.

Claude: Open Claude → create a Project (or a Skill in Claude Code) → paste the prompt into the project instructions → every conversation in that project becomes a tutoring session for this module.

Safety note: children under 13 should use AI assistants together with a parent, and account age rules of each platform apply.

This module is part of the open OSH curriculum, licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0. Print it, adapt it, share it.