Money Matter Badge Work

I spent a lot of time over the last month trying to find info on the Brownie Money Matters Badge, but I really didn't find anything helpful. It could be a very dry badge to work on but since we meet right after school, I wanted to make sure the girls would move around and have a chance to talk.

First we talked about things we need and things we want. I had some pictures, and the girls decided which side of the chart they should go on. There were some lively discussions over ipods and things like that, but in the end it came down to food, shelter, and clothing as strict needs and everything else wants. I made sure though to say that wanting things is not bad, neither is having things outside of food, clothing, and shelter.

I had created three "shops" using the pictures from the Brownie binder. One was a food shop, another had school supplies, and the third was for clothing. The girls were in three groups of three and they each had a Brownie Elf to take shopping with 30 Elf dollars." I made two rules, they had to buy something at each shop and they had to agree. I gave them three minutes at each shop, then they'd come to me, the cashier, to pay for what they wanted and get their change.

In the end each group fulfilled the requirements, but it was hard. One group could not agree to save their lives on what they wanted, so a leader had to step in and help. Another group wanted to only buy the treats at the grocery store. I hadn't given them specific rules about the groceries, but they actually took it upon themselves to buy healthy food, for the most part.

We came back together and talked about what was hard and easy and why it was so hard to stay in budget. This is the beginning of a larger discussion on budgeting. Our cookie sales are over and we want to discuss our bigger projects and activities for the next year. We also have dues money that is going straight into philanthropy. So the girls have a lot to decide.