When you learn to invest money, you can put a little money away now and watch it grow over time. Learning about money is sort of the same way: By investing some time to learn about how to manage money now, you can waste less time and money doing it all wrong.
For some people, learning basic things about how to make a budget and pay bills is enough, but for people who want to run or even own a business someday, it’s important to learn about a lot of other money skills, too. But whether you plan to work for yourself or someone else someday, a little business know-how can help you in life, even if you’re just setting up a lemonade stand or selling art you made to neighbors and friends.
Grown-ups know it’s important to learn about money math and how it’s used in business. In fact, studies have shown that grown-ups who learned about all of this stuff well when they were kids are glad they did, but those who didn’t learn these lessons very well really regret it later on.
Luckily, learning lessons about money and business doesn’t have to be boring. While your parents might’ve been stuck with worksheets and school lessons alone, today, we also have the Internet, and the Internet has lots of games and activities that can help you learn about money math in a way that’s actually fun, too. Try some of them out and you’ll soon be a lot better at things like knowing what coins are worth, counting money, making change, or even managing a business to make sure that its expenses aren’t bigger than its profits.
- Lemonade Stand: Everyone loves the lemonade Larry sells from his lemonade stand! Help him run his business by adding or multiplying the total price for each customer.
- Counting With Coins: Learn to identify different coins and their values with this game from the U.S. Mint. This game is best for kids who don’t know much about money yet.
- Peter Pig’s Money Counter: Identify, sort, and count change with Peter Pig’s Money Counter.
- Hamburger Food Truck: In this game, you have your own food truck! Cook burgers to order and watch your profit add up.
- World of Cents Game: When you earn money in this bright and interactive game, you can decide how to spend what you earn to build up a magical world.
- Fed Match Memory Game: Learn economic and banking terms with this online memory card game that has levels from easy to hard.
- Take Caroline Shopping: Caroline needs to go to the store to help her mother. Help Caroline pick up the right groceries and count out the correct change.
- Fruit Shoot Coins: Learn to add coins quickly with Fruit Shoot Coins! Shoot the fruit with the right value for points. This game has lots of different levels, so you can build skill and speed over time.
- Wise Pockets: Wise Pockets is a friendly mouse who knows all about spending, lending, and borrowing. You can read through four interactive and colorful stories to learn all about these topics.
- Super Grocery Shopper: The Super Grocery Shopper game helps build money management skills. Players get extra points when they stay under budget and have a healthy diet!
- Candy Cashier: Monsters have invaded the candy store! Can you help them buy candy? Add up how much they owe, then help them count out their money to pay.
- Money Memory Game From the Treasury: Get familiar with financial terms like “inflation,” “credit,” “cash,” “debt,” and “gold” with this online memory card game from the U.S. Treasury.
- Master Making Change From Purchases: Pick out bills and coins to match the total. This is a harder game with larger bills to help you get comfortable making change from purchases.
- Big Bucks: With this virtual investment game, you can buy and sell real estate, analyze your choices, and make fast decisions.
- The Hoteling Game: Compete against three other business owners for market share and solve real-world math problems in this game for advanced students.
- Airport Tycoon: Airport Manager: You just bought an airport! Airport Tycoon is an advanced game for students who want to learn about how to run a business. Test your management and decision-making skills over time, and let your entrepreneurial spirit shine!