New
Needs vs Wants
Spend a 24-coin outing budget and notice trade-offs.
easy · ages 8–12
StartPip is setting up the town…
Pip is setting up the town…
Fictional game coins only
Practice income, spending, needs and wants, saving, and profit in a pretend town. No real money.
Studio lessonsMissions and lessons are coming from Sanity.
Opening the wallet on this device…
Badges you earn will line up here after a mission and its knowledge check.
Ages 8–12
Two items can look alike and cost different amounts. Smart shoppers check what they get for the coins, not just the price tag. A bigger pack may cost less for each piece, but only if you will really use it all.
Before buying, ask two questions: how much does it cost, and how much do I get? A 6-coin pack of 10 pencils costs less for each pencil than a 3-coin single pencil.
A 12-coin pack of six juices is cheaper per juice. If you only need one today, the extra five might go to waste. A deal is only a deal when you use it.
A very cheap notebook that falls apart in a week costs more in the end. Think about how long something will last, not just the price today.
Pip wants a new kite. Pip cannot just wish coins into the wallet. In the town, coins come in when someone does a job, sells something, or receives a gift. Money that comes in is called income.
Pip waters the neighbor's plants and gets 6 game coins. That is earned income: Pip did work and got paid for it.
Sometimes coins arrive without a job, like a birthday gift. That is still income, but it is not earned. Earned and gifted coins both go in the wallet.
Income is only half of the story. What you do next, spend or save, decides what is left. The next lessons practice that.
Not every thing you like is a thing you need. Telling the two apart is one of the strongest money skills there is, and wants are allowed. You only have to notice which is which before you spend.
Food, water, a warm coat in winter, a way to get to school, and school supplies are needs. Without them, staying healthy or learning gets hard.
Toys, stickers, fancy snacks, and a third pair of cool shoes are wants. They are fun. Life still works if they wait.
A coat is a need. A coat with sparkles is partly a want. A good question is: what is the plainest way to cover the need? Then decide if the extra is worth its cost.
You can spend a coin only once. When Pip chooses cookies, those same coins cannot also buy a bus ride. The best thing Pip gave up has a name: opportunity cost.
Pip has 12 game coins. Cookies cost 8. A bus ride costs 5. Pip cannot afford both. Picking one means letting the other go.
If Pip picks cookies, the opportunity cost is the bus ride. If Pip picks the bus, it is the cookies. Opportunity cost is not a mistake. It is just the other road.
Before spending, ask: what else could these coins do? Naming the trade-off turns a quick grab into a real decision.
A budget tells each coin where to go. Pip has 20 game coins for a market day. Without a plan the coins vanish on the first stall. With a plan, Pip covers needs, saves some, and still has room for one treat.
Pip's plan for 20 game coins: 8 for needs, 6 for saving, 6 for a treat. 8 + 6 + 6 = 20, so the plan adds up.
A budget that spends 24 coins when Pip only has 20 is not a budget. It is a wish. Add up the parts and compare them with the coins you really have.
If the bus costs more than planned, Pip trims the treat first, not the needs. A budget is a tool for choosing, not a rulebook that cannot bend.
Pip wants a town bicycle that costs 150 game coins. That is a savings goal. Pip will not have 150 coins on day one, and that is fine. Saving is putting a little aside again and again.
The goal, 150 game coins, is the number to reach. It is not coins Pip already has.
The wallet holds coins Pip can use today. The savings jar holds coins set aside for the goal. Moving coins from wallet to jar lowers the wallet and raises the jar.
Pip has 40 coins in the jar and the goal is 150. 150 − 40 = 110 coins still to save. Each time Pip earns coins, some can go in the jar.
Pip opens a lemonade stand. Customers hand over coins, but Pip also had to buy lemons, sugar, and cups. Whether the stand did well depends on both sides.
Revenue is all the coins customers pay. Pip sells 10 cups at 2 game coins. Revenue = 10 × 2 = 20 coins.
Expenses are what Pip paid to run the stand. Supplies cost 12 coins. That is the expense.
Profit = revenue − expenses. 20 − 12 = 8 coins of profit. If the answer is below zero, it is a loss, and the plan cost more than it earned. A higher price or more cups can change the answer.
A bike tire pops. A toy breaks. A school trip needs a few extra coins. Surprises happen to everyone, and they are easier when a few coins are already set aside.
Pip's bike tire goes flat and the repair costs 7 game coins. Pip did not plan for it, but Pip can still handle it.
Pip keeps a small jar for surprises. When the repair comes up, Pip pays from that jar instead of cancelling the savings goal.
After using the safety jar, Pip puts a few coins back in when more come in. Then the jar is ready for the next surprise.
No one gets every money choice right. Thoughtful choosers follow a short routine, so even a wrong turn teaches something. This lesson brings together everything from the town.
Wait a moment before spending. A quick pause stops the I-must-have-it-now feeling from deciding for you.
Is it a need or a want? What is the opportunity cost? Does it fit the budget and the savings goal?
After you choose, check how it went. If you regret a spend, that is information for next time, not a reason to feel bad.
MoneyVerse is a practice game. It does not offer personal financial advice, and every coin is a fictional game coin. Without signing in, progress stays in this browser. Google sign-in is optional and is used only to store that same progress in a private cloud save. Signing in does not move a signed-out game onto the account.