Income vs Expenses
Income is money coming in. Expenses are money going out.
Watching money move
📥 Income
- Wages
- Pocket money
- Money earned from jobs
- Gifts
- Money from selling something
📤 Expenses
- Food
- Toys
- Games
- Activities
- School items
Not everything you receive is necessarily income in every context — sometimes it's a transfer of money you already had. And not everything you pay for is necessarily an expense, either.
Saving isn't spending
Moving $5 from Spend to Save doesn't mean the money disappeared. It's still yours — it's simply been given a different purpose. That's why saving towards a goal isn't an expense; it's money being set aside, not money going out for good.
Work out what's left
Start with $20. Add $5 pocket money. Subtract $4 for a toy and $3 for a snack. How much is left?
$20 + $5 − $4 − $3 = $18.
If you put $5 of that into your Save jar, how much is available to spend?
$18 − $5 = $13 available to spend. The $5 isn't gone — it's just saved for later.
Use real-life examples from shopping and pocket money as they come up. The goal is helping your child see money coming in and going out — not introducing complicated accounting.
Where to next
A refresher on income, expenses and budgeting.