Another approach to maximizing utility uses indifference curves (sometimes called utility curves) and budget constraints to identify the utility optimizing combination of consumption. Read about this method in this article.

Through an interactive game, learners share spending decisions they've made in the past and start to think about their spending habits in new ways.

By thinking about their own expenses, students explore how differentiating between needs and wants can inform daily financial decisions and rules to live by.

This learning activity helps educators and students use a valuable web resource that ranks products based on three sustainability criteria: personal health, environmental impact, and social equity.

Use this board game to introduce the concepts of energy use in our lives and the very real impact that personal choices can have on our energy consumption, energy bills and fuel supply. The game begins as students select cards that...

This lesson teaches students about opportunity cost through some steps of buying a house. It also shows students how advertising affects consumer decision-making.

The Consumerist, a subsidiary of Consumer Reports, accepts tips from consumers to cover stories people want to hear or should become aware of based on consumers interests.

In this activity, students will learn about the basic components and terminology of individual health insurance. Students will make decisions about the value of insurance protection and you will identify trends in the cost of medical...

Learners use economic reasoning to analyze the costs and consequences of choice. The idea that the best things in life are free is widely expressed as a maxim by people who know nothing of its origin. They know it's true through...

Each student will buy (hypothetically) a car that will need to be financed. The student will need to look at different options and decide which will be the best choice for his situation. The student will need to find an advertisement for...

Students will use a PACED decision making grid to help them decide where they would like to attend college.

This lesson introduces the concept of monopoly. It calls upon students to consider how monopoly power might affect the quality and price of goods and services offered to consumers. In light of what they learn about the history of trusts...

In this interactive mall environment, students learn how to make smart decisions as consumers. Whether shopping for clothes, choosing the best food deal, searching for a job or buying a cellphone, students will learn how to recognize...

Young scholars play a game to share how they think and feel about money.

Consumers are faced with tough choices because so many innovative and exciting products and services are available. Therefore, engraining a decision-making process that includes considering of opportunity cost is necessary to shape...

Questions related to attitudes.

Show elementary students the correlation between goods and services and consumers. "You will draw a picture of a community helper, and perhaps write some sentences about him or her, to show or tell how that helper provides a Service."

Lesson that helps learners understand that people must make choices about the goods and services they purchase. Students recognize the prices indicate what people pay for goods and services, learn to compare prices, and understand that...

This Federal Government website provides consumers with many resources and much information to help them to manage their money better. Topics include budgeting, taxes, saving, investing, retirement planning, credit, and checking...

Credit is a wonderful tool for the consumer. It can enhance your quality of life. It enables you to buy and enjoy a purchase before you have the money to pay for it. On the other hand, it can create serious problems for people who use it...

Credit Cards are a risky business these days, especially for students and those holding multiple cards. Interest rates on credit card balances have always been high relative to other rates, for several reasons. Despite this, there is...

Have you given any thought to where you will live when you are "on your own" - out in the world earning a living? You will have many decisions to make as you look for a place to call home. In this lesson, your basic economic decision...

This activity has students redesign and justify the packaging currently used in some consumer products. Design criteria include reducing the amount of packaging material by 25%.

A website dedicated to helping students make informed financial decisions through their road to college. Website focues on filling out financial aid to choosing a loan.