- Definition
Finances simply means all the money a person, family, or business has, how they get it, and how they spend it.
A family's finances include their budget for groceries, bills, and savings.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Finances are like managing the money in your piggy bank — deciding how much to save, spend, or share.
Ask your child: If you got ten dollars, what would your plan for it be?
Common mix-up: Kids may think finances is just about how much money you have. It’s actually about the choices you make with that money, like saving, spending, and budgeting.
Examples
- A kid saving their allowance to buy a video game is managing their personal finances.
- A school bake sale's finances would include the cost of ingredients and the money earned from selling cookies.
finances is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
