FAMIGOS

MONEY LAB

by Famigos · money skills for teens

TEENS← All tools
👋
Welcome

Let's talk about money

This session covers the money decisions that start getting real around now — your own paycheck, a bank account, maybe your first credit offer. We're not here to lecture you on rules, just to practice the thinking.

Money is like a teammate you'll have for life — always there, always nudging you to decide something. Take it seriously, look after it, and it'll help you build a genuinely good life.

The decisions never really stop

Right now, and for the rest of your life, you'll keep facing the same kinds of money decisions. Here's the big picture:

🛍️ Spending"Need or want?"🐷 Saving"What am I saving for?"🎁 Sharing"How much feels right?"🌱 Investing"Growing or gambling?"🤝 Borrowing"Can I afford this later?"💼 Earning"Is this worth my time?"
🎯 Goal for the day
Today isn't about telling you what to do with your money — it's about training your mind for those decisions, again and again.
🛍️
Station 01

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Answer the 5 questions honestly for this scenario. There's no single right answer — the point is noticing why you want it.

Leans wantCould go either wayLeans need
Answer the questions above to see where this one lands.
Quick take: There's no wrong answer here — just get honest with what's driving the decision.
Putting it into practice
Budgeting: needs first, then wants

A budget is just the need-vs-want filter applied to a fixed amount of money: cover your needs first, then whatever's left is genuinely yours to spend on wants.

🏝️ Exercise: a week in Ibiza on €1,500

Your class is planning a week in Ibiza. Budget: €1,500 per person, all-in. Fund the needs below first — then split what's left across the wants.

Needs
Wants
Tools students actually use
N26 / Revolut — spending insights and budget categories built into the banking app. Finanzguru — connects your German accounts and tracks subscriptions. YNAB (You Need A Budget) — give every euro a job before you spend it. Even a simple notes app or spreadsheet works — the habit matters more than the tool.
❄️
Station 02

Savings snowball

Drag the sliders and watch what your money actually becomes.

Yearly amount saved€500 / year
Years10 years
Growth rate of the account5% / year
Piggy bank (0% growth)
€0
Growing account
€0
Real value of piggy bank
€0

Saving has a shelf life
Prices creep up every year (inflation), so idle cash slowly buys less. Saving is great for goals inside 6 months — beyond that, it's time to invest instead.
Banking basics
Three accounts, three jobs
CHECKING (GIROKONTO)
Daily spending, bills. Pays about 0% interest.
SAVINGS (TAGESGELD)
Safe, flexible. Germany pays roughly 1–2.5% p.a. right now (2026).
INVESTMENT (DEPOT)
Holds funds/stocks. No fixed rate — value moves with markets (next station).
Giro, debit, or credit?
Same-looking cards, different mechanics
Girocard (EC-Karte): Germany's own debit card — tied straight to your checking account, widely accepted locally, limited online/international use.
Debit card (Visa/Mastercard Debit): works internationally and online, but same rule — spends only money you already have.
Credit card: spends borrowed money. Pay the full statement monthly and it's free; carry a balance and German cards typically charge 18–25% APR — turning small purchases into expensive debt fast.
Quick take: Time does most of the work here — the earlier you start, the less you actually have to put in yourself.
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Station 03

Investing: how to decide

Three questions decide almost everything: how long can this money stay invested, how much ups-and-downs can you handle, and what return would satisfy you?

Find your investor profile
Answer all 3 to see your profile.
A diversified portfolio

More time in the market usually means more risk you can afford to take on.

RETURN
Money Market Funds, Banks
Debt Funds, Mixed Funds, Real Estate Funds
Global Equity Funds (Value/Dividend)
Global Equity Funds (Growth & Momentum)
Equity Funds — Sector/Geography
Commodities, Real Estate, Alt. Assets, Crypto
RISK →
Short term (1–3 yrs)
Mid term (4–6 yrs)
Long term (>7 yrs)

This session does not represent investment advice — the chart and examples are for knowledge transfer only. No liability is assumed for investment decisions based on this session.

Investing vs. trading
INVESTING
Years-long horizon, buy and hold, based on real value. Lower stress, aims to grow wealth steadily.
TRADING
Days/weeks horizon, frequent buying and selling on price moves. Higher risk, closer to speculation.
Quick take: If you can't explain what's actually paying you back, it's probably not investing.
🔁
Station 04

The money cycle

Every time money comes in, it moves through the same 4 stops: receive → save or spend → invest (if saved) → earn (if invested). Play 4 rounds and watch what happens to your wealth depending on what you choose.

STOP 1ReceiveSTOP 2Save or spendSTOP 3Invest (if saved)STOP 4Earn (if invested)€€Someoneelse's pocketSpendingleaves the cycleMoney that stays in the loop —saved, invested, earned — keepscoming back around bigger.
Credit card reality check
A €500 credit card balance at 20% APR, paying only the minimum each month, takes roughly 4–5 years to clear and costs around €250+ in interest — money that leaks straight out of your cycle. Treat a credit card like a debit card: never spend what you don't already have, and pay the full balance every month.
Round 1 of 4 — you receive €20Wealth: €0
Quick take: Every round you keep money in the cycle — saving, investing — it works harder for you.
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Station 05

Your money cycle checklist

The one habit that makes everything else in Money Lab actually work.

The Big Takeaway
Pay Yourself First

Cover your real needs — then save and invest before you spend. Grow your money first. Spend what's left.

Most people
💰 Earn→Spend on wants→Save whatever's left (often €0)
This session's approach
💰 Earn→✅ Cover needs→🌱 Save & invest FIRST→Spend what's left, guilt-free
Check yourself
Questions to ask before you spend

Tap each one as you check it off:

One more thing
"But what am I even saving or investing for?"

Money grows best when it has a job to do. Pick a goal for each timeframe:

🎫
SOON
A concert ticket, new trainers, a weekend out.
🚗
IN A FEW YEARS
A car, a laptop for uni, a gap-year trip.
🎓
SOMEDAY
A deposit on your own place, further study — or just options.

A goal doesn't have to be huge or far away — even "soon" counts. The point is just this: money without a job tends to get spent on nothing in particular. Money with a job gets protected.

That's the whole session in one habit: pay yourself first, ask the 5 questions before you spend, and keep money moving through the cycle instead of leaking out. The details will come with practice — the framework is yours now.
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Appendix

Ways to earn money — age by age

Earning as a teen in Germany is legally age-gated (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz). What's actually allowed changes at 13, 15, and 18.

AGE 13–14
Light work only, parental consent, max 2 hrs on school days.
• Newspaper/flyer delivery (Zeitungsaustragen)
• Babysitting, dog walking
• Tutoring younger kids
AGE 15–17
Up to 8 hrs/day, 40 hrs/week once out of full-time schooling — or a 4-week holiday job while still in school.
• Ferienjob (holiday job) — retail, warehouse, agriculture
• Mini-job — up to €603/month tax-free (2026), min. wage €13.90/hr — cafés, retail, admin
• Tutoring (Nachhilfe) — typically €10–20/hr
• Selling on Vinted or eBay Kleinanzeigen
• Sports club assistant coach or referee
FROM 18
Werkstudent jobs open up — better pay, career-relevant, up to 20 hrs/week during term. This is where the money cycle from Station 04 really starts to matter.

Rules simplified for this session — always check the current Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz and mini-job limits, since figures adjust most years.