Maya's Money Mistake

Maya was happy. She had just earned ₹500 for helping her aunt. It was more money than she usually had.

On her way home, she saw her friends getting street food. "Come join us!" they said. Maya didn't think twice. She spent ₹150 on pani puri and juices for everyone. It was a fun time.

Later that day, she saw that a new movie was coming out. All her friends were going. The ticket cost ₹200. She booked it right away.

The next day, her mom asked, "Did you remember to save money for your new school project kit? It costs ₹300."

Maya's heart sank. She checked her money. After buying the snacks and the movie ticket, she only had ₹150 left. She needed ₹300 for the kit. She didn't have enough!

She felt awful. She had spent her money too fast and now she couldn't buy what she really needed.

Ananya and her two friends decided to run a stall at their school’s annual fair. Each contributed ₹500, so they began with ₹1500. They planned carefully: bread and vegetables would cost ₹600, lemons and sugar ₹300, paper cups and plates ₹200, and decorations ₹200.

They wanted to avoid overspending, so they agreed to follow a rule: half of their money would go toward important needs for the stall, about one-third for extra items like decorations or snacks, and the rest would be saved for later. Ananya also reminded them about SMART goals. She said, “Let’s save ₹500 from our profits for the class trip next month.”

During the fair, rain damaged some of their cups, forcing them to spend another ₹150. Later, one friend bought ice creams worth ₹100 without planning. Even so, their total sales reached ₹3200. Now they had to decide how to divide their earnings between fun, savings, and future safety nets.