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Year 4

Save, spend or borrow?

I understand the difference between saving, spending and borrowing.

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New
New
Year 4

Save, spend or borrow?

I understand the difference between saving, spending and borrowing.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Money that isn’t spent is saved – it doesn’t disappear and can be spent later.
  2. By saving money over time, you can afford more expensive things.
  3. Borrowing money is a way of getting money earlier than expected but it must be paid back.
  4. There are times when borrowing money is the right thing to do.

Keywords

  • Save - To save is to keep money instead of spending it, especially in order to buy a particular thing.

  • Spend - To spend is to give money to pay for goods and services.

  • Borrow - Borrow means to use someone else's money. It will be paid back later.

Common misconception

Pupils might believe that borrowing is always wrong.

Make it explicitly clear that borrowing money is not inherently wrong provided there is a clear plan to be able to repay it and it is within means. If it is appropriate, discuss the need for adults to borrow money when setting up a business.


To help you plan your year 4 financial education lesson on: Save, spend or borrow?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ensure that you have a good understanding of the cultural perspectives and attitudes towards borrowing money within your class and be open to discussing and celebrating such differences if it helps the learning. Take time to discuss the different currencies that children in your class may use.
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Adult supervision recommended

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Tick the individual items that can be afforded with the money shown in the picture.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Juggling balls £12
Board Game £18
Correct answer: Cupcake kit £2.50
Q2.
Sticker packs are £0.50 each. If you’ve £3 then how many sticker packs can you afford?
Correct Answer: 6, six
Q3.
Which of these is the priority for a day at the beach on a very hot and sunny day?
Bucket and spade
Frisbee
Correct answer: Sun lotion
Q4.
Izzy is going shopping. If Izzy’s priority is her dad’s birthday present, which of these lists is written from most important to least important?
Sticker book, special coffee, apple
Apple, sticker book, special coffee
Correct answer: Special coffee, sticker book, apple
Q5.
Your school has cricket and tennis matches coming up soon and a budget of £240 equipment. Tick the items your school should prioritise to buy.
Basketballs £80
Correct answer: Tennis balls £40
Football goalposts £120
Correct answer: Cricket sets £100
Q6.
Your school has sports day and a basketball tournament soon and a budget of £160. Tick the items your school should choose to buy to spend all the money.
Correct answer: Hoops £20
Correct answer: Basketballs £80
Cricket sets £100
Correct answer: Hurdles £60
Football goalposts £120

6 Questions

Q1.
What does borrow mean?
To keep money instead of spending it, especially in order to buy a particular th
To give money to pay for goods and services.
Correct answer: To use someone else's money. It will be paid back later.
Q2.
What do you need to be sure of when you borrow money from somebody?
Correct answer: They are a trusted person.
Correct answer: You have an agreed plan for paying back the money.
That they have lots of money.
That they are nearby.
Q3.
Alex needs £3 to be able to buy a new football. Is it okay to borrow this from his dad?
Correct answer: Yes
No
Q4.
Why shouldn’t you borrow money from lots of different people at once?
Correct answer: It might mean you owe people a lot of money.
Correct answer: It is difficult to keep track.
Correct answer: People might lose trust in you.
Because borrowing is a bad thing to do.
Q5.
True or false? It’s okay to borrow money as long as you agree when to pay it back.
Correct answer: True
False
Q6.
True or false? Every time you want something quickly you should borrow as much as you need because then you get what you want quicker.
True
Correct answer: False