Grade by Grade
F. Financial Literacy · Money and Finances: Ways to Pay, Financial Goals, Interest Rates and Sharing Resources

Financial Goals: Earning and Saving

F1.2 A1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify different types of financial goals, including earning goals and saving goals.
  • I can tell the difference between short-term and long-term goals.
  • I can outline the key steps to reach a financial goal.
  • I can calculate how much to save or earn each week, and how many weeks it will take.

Words to know

financial goal
Something you want to do with money, with an amount and a time to reach it.
saving goal
A goal to put money aside until you have a certain amount.
earning goal
A goal to make a certain amount of money by working, like raking leaves or selling crafts.
short-term goal
A goal you can reach soon, in a few weeks or months.
long-term goal
A goal that takes a long time, many months or years.
milestone
A checkpoint on the way to a goal, like reaching one quarter of the amount.
income
Money that comes in, such as an allowance, gifts or pay for work.

Remember from Grade 5

In Grade 5 you designed budgets: plans that show where money comes from (income) and where it goes (expenses, savings and giving). In Grade 4 you made a simple saving plan.

In Grade 6 you'll set financial goals and plan the steps to reach them. A budget tells your money where to go; a goal tells you why.

Maya's big goal

Maya loves music. She wants her own keyboard (a piano-style instrument). It costs $150 before tax. She has $40 saved. She walks a neighbour's dog after school and earns $12 a week.

Maya says, "I'll just save until I have enough." That's a start, but she doesn't yet know how much she needs or how long it will take. Let's help her turn a wish into a financial goal.

A black electronic piano keyboard on a wooden stand in a bright living room.
A keyboard like the one Maya wants. Turning "I want one" into a financial goal means knowing its total cost and how long it will take to save for it. AI-generated image

Types of financial goals

  • A saving goal is about putting money aside: "I will save $169.50 for a keyboard."
  • An earning goal is about making money: "I will earn $90 shovelling snow this winter."
  • A spending goal is about spending less on something: "I will spend no more than $10 a month on snacks."
  • A giving goal is about sharing: "I will give $20 to the food bank before the winter holidays."

Goals can also be short-term (reached in weeks or a few months) or long-term (many months or years). Grown-ups' long-term goals include buying a home, saving for college or university, or saving for when they stop working (retirement).

Earning and saving goals often work together: you earn money so that you can save it.

GoalTypeShort-term or long-term?
Save $25 for a movie outing next monthSavingShort-term
Earn $60 raking leaves this fallEarningShort-term
Save $300 for a new bike by next summerSavingLong-term (about a year)
Save for college or universitySavingLong-term (many years)
Give $20 to an animal shelter by DecemberGivingShort-term
Some examples of financial goals.

Key steps to reach a financial goal

  1. Decide what you want and why. Is it a need or a want? Is it worth the wait?
  2. Find the full cost. Include 13% HST if the item has tax.
  3. Choose a deadline. By when do you want it?
  4. Make a plan. Subtract what you already have. Then divide by the number of weeks to find how much to save or earn each week. Or divide by what you can save each week to find how many weeks.
  5. Set milestones. Checkpoints like 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 of the way.
  6. Track your progress. Write down every amount you add.
  7. Adjust if needed. If you fall behind, change the plan: earn more, spend less or move the deadline.
  8. Reach it and reflect. What worked? What would you do differently next time?
Eight steps from a wish to a goal1Decidewhat and why2Find thefull cost3Choose adeadline4Make aplan5Setmilestones6Trackprogress7Adjustif needed8Reach itand reflect
The path to a financial goal. Steps 5 to 7 (milestones, tracking, adjusting) are where most goals are won or lost.
Worked example

Example 1: Maya's saving plan

The keyboard costs $150 plus HST. Maya has $40 and saves $12 a week. How many weeks will it take?

  1. Full cost: HST is 150 × 13¢ = 1950¢ = $19.50. Total: $169.50.
  2. Still needed: $169.50 − $40.00 = $129.50.
  3. Divide by what she saves each week: $129.50 ÷ $12 ≈ 10.8.
  4. 10.8 weeks isn't a whole number. After 10 weeks she has only 10 × $12 = $120 more (not enough). After 11 weeks she has 11 × $12 = $132 more. ✔ So round up.
  5. Clear goal: "I will save $12 a week from dog walking for 11 weeks to buy a $169.50 keyboard."

11 weeks. She'll have $40 + $132 = $172, enough for the keyboard with $2.50 left over.

Goal: $169.50 (keyboard + HST)$401/41/23/4$0$169.50
Maya's goal as a progress bar. Her $40 is shaded. The dashed lines are milestones at one quarter, one half and three quarters of $169.50.
Worked example

Example 2: An earning goal

Owen wants to earn $90 this winter by shovelling snow for neighbours. He charges $15 per driveway. How many driveways must he shovel? If it snows enough for about 2 driveways a week, how long might it take?

  1. Driveways needed: $90 ÷ $15 = 6 driveways.
  2. Weeks: 6 ÷ 2 = 3 weeks.
  3. But snow doesn't follow a plan! Owen could make a backup: if there's little snow, he could also offer to walk dogs or sort recycling for neighbours.

6 driveways, about 3 weeks if the snow cooperates.

Worked example

Example 3: Saving by a deadline

Lina wants $66 for winter holiday gifts for her family. The gifts' prices already include tax. The holidays are 6 weeks away. How much should she save each week?

  1. She has $0 saved so far, so she needs all $66.
  2. Divide by the weeks: $66 ÷ 6 = $11 a week.
  3. Milestone check: at 3 weeks (halfway) she should have 3 × $11 = $33, half of $66. ✔

$11 a week. At the halfway point she should have $33.

Worked example

Example 4: Make a goal clear

Turn this wish into a clear financial goal: "I want to save some money for summer."

  1. What? For a day at a water park with friends.
  2. How much? Ask a grown-up to check the cost: say $45 with tax.
  3. By when? The trip is in 9 weeks.
  4. Plan: $45 ÷ 9 = $5 a week from her allowance.
  5. Track it: a chart on the fridge with a box for each week.

"I will save $5 a week for 9 weeks to have $45 for a water park day." Now the goal has an amount, a deadline and a plan.

Round up for "how many weeks"

When you divide to find how many weeks a goal will take, a decimal answer means part of a week isn't enough. Round up to the next whole week, then check by multiplying.

Keep going

Big goals take patience. Falling behind for a week is normal. Instead of giving up, adjust: save a bit more next week, find an extra small job or move your deadline. Noticing how you feel ("I really want to spend this now!") and choosing what matters most to you is a skill that grows with practice.

Just for fun

After 11 weeks of walking the neighbour's dog, Maya gets her keyboard. Honestly, the dog did half the work. She should play it a song.

Hands-on activity

My goal card

You need: paper or an index card, a pencil, a ruler, a calculator and a store flyer or website (with a grown-up).

  1. Choose a real goal: something to save for, an amount to earn, or a gift to give.
  2. Find the price in a flyer or online with a grown-up. Add 13% HST if it has tax.
  3. Write how much you already have, how much you can save or earn each week, and work out how many weeks it will take.
  4. Draw a progress bar like Maya's, with milestones at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4.
  5. Each week for the next month, shade in what you've added. At the end of the month, write one thing that helped and one thing that got in the way.

What to look for: a full cost with tax (if needed), a correct number of weeks (rounded up) and milestone amounts that are 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 of the total.

Your turn

1

Is each goal short-term or long-term? (a) Saving $20 for a skating party next month. (b) Saving for college or university.

2

Is "Earn $40 by raking leaves" a saving goal or an earning goal?

3

A toy costs $30 before tax. What is the full cost to plan for?

4

Ali needs $60 (tax included). He has $15 and saves $9 a week. How many weeks?

5

Rosa needs $100 in 8 weeks. How much should she save each week?

6

Make this wish into a clear goal: "I want to buy a book someday."

7

Theo earns $12.50 for each yard he rakes. How many yards must he rake to earn $75?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is the HST on $10?

2

You need $50 in 5 weeks. How much each week?

3

"Give $10 to the animal shelter" is what type of goal?

4

You save $8 a week for 4 weeks. How much do you have?

5

What is a milestone?

More practice: on your own

1

A bike costs $280 plus HST. Jayden has $100 and saves $18 a week. How many weeks?

2

A goal of $120 has milestones at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4. What amount is each milestone?

3

Nia gets $8 a week. She gives $1 a week to a charity jar and saves the rest for a $40 game (tax included). How many weeks until she has $40?

4

Kenji pet-sits for $10 a day. He wants to earn $70. If he pet-sits 2 days a week, how many weeks will it take?

5

Put these steps in order: track progress, find the full cost, decide what and why, make a plan.

Challenge

1

A tablet costs $199.99 plus HST. Ava has $65, will get $50 for her birthday in a few weeks, and saves $15 a week. How many weeks of saving does she need?

2

Two plans to reach $150. Plan A: save $20 a week, starting with $0. Plan B: start with $60 from gifts and save $10 a week. Which reaches $150 first?

3

A family sets a long-term goal: $3000 for a trip to visit relatives in 2 years. How much should they save each month? About how much is that each week?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

"I will earn $50 by selling homemade bookmarks" is:

2.

Which goal is long-term?

3.

You need $84 in 7 weeks. How much must you save each week?

4.

An item costs $50 before tax. What full cost should you plan for?

5.

You need $55 more and save $10 a week. How many weeks will it take?

6.

Which is the first step in reaching a financial goal?

For parents and teachers

What your child is learning: Ontario's Grade 6 expectation F1.2 asks students to identify different types of financial goals, including earning and saving goals, and outline some key steps in achieving them. The lesson builds on Grade 5 budgeting: setting a clear goal (what, how much with HST, by when), dividing to plan weekly amounts, rounding up when finding how many weeks, and tracking with milestones. Persevering and adjusting a plan are part of the social-emotional learning skills and mathematical processes in A1.

Common difficulties:

  • Forgetting tax when finding the full cost of a goal.
  • Rounding down the number of weeks (5.5 weeks means 6 weeks, not 5).
  • Forgetting money already saved, or subtracting it twice.
  • Vague goals ("save some money") with no amount or deadline.

Good to know: some items have less tax in Ontario (for example, basic groceries have no HST, and printed books and children's clothing get a rebate of the provincial part at the till), so practice items use things that are charged the full 13%.

How to help: Help your child choose one small, real goal and keep the goal card somewhere visible. Check in weekly without judging. If they fall behind, ask, "What could you change?" Talk about a goal your family has worked toward, if you're comfortable sharing.