Level 3 · ages 13–15OECD PMSpend
Fixed and variable costs
🎯 Goal: Tell apart fixed costs (recurring, steady) and variable costs (change with use) to budget better.
Fixed costs recur steadily (tuition, internet). Variable costs change with use (snacks, outings). Sorting them helps control a budget.
Let’s explore
📌
Fixed: about the same monthly → easy to predict.
🌊
Variable: rises/falls with spending → easiest to cut.
✂️
To save fast, cut variable costs first.
Practice activity
🗂️ Sort: tuition, milk tea, internet, movie ticket — which are fixed vs variable?
Worked example: Tuition and internet are fixed (every month). Milk tea and movie tickets are variable (depends). To save, you cut milk tea first.
Quick quiz
1. A fixed cost is?
→ Recurs steadily
2. Monthly tuition is a cost that is?
→ Fixed
3. Milk tea and outings are costs that are?
→ Variable
4. To save fast, cut?
→ Variable costs first
5. Fixed costs are easy to?
→ Predict ahead
🎯 Real-life mission
List your spending into two groups: fixed and variable.
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