Making Ends Meet
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
People with low incomes are faced with making critical choices on a daily basis regarding how to stretch their limited resources.
In this simulation, you will be asked to make similar choices. You will face setbacks like those faced by American families every day. Each of these setbacks will come with a financial cost.
For this simulation, imagine that you are a single parent with two children:
a 9-year-old son and a daughter who is 7 years old. You work full-time, making slightly over minimum wage.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayYou will begin with a bank of 15 tokens. These tokens represent your income.
Throughout this simulation, you will be faced with making difficult decisions about how you will spend your limited income.
For each spending category, you can spend 1, 2, or 3 tokens. You cannot skip a category when distributing your tokens.
Below are the eight spending categories. Please click next to continue.
Housing
Healthcare
Food
Transportation
Technology
Access
Laundry
Shopping
Other
Expenses
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
Please examine the choices in each spending category. Distribute your tokens throughout the categories of your budget. Remember, at least 1 token must be allocated to each category. Once you are done distributing your tokens, click Next to continue.
3-bedroom single-family home rental with small yard close to school
2-bedroom apartment with no yard
Cramped 2-bedroom apartment in public housing with safety concerns
Health insurance for you and your family; can make appointments with family doctor
Health insurance for you through your employer; no other family members are insured
No health insurance, must rely on urgent care and emergency room visits; pay out of pocket
Groceries for 3 meals a day and snacks in between, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 2 meals a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 1 meal a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Own your own car
Walk most places; use public transportation or ride-sharing when necessary
Walk or bike everywhere; cannot afford public transportation on a regular basis
Cell phone with monthly data plan and computer with Wi-Fi at home
Cell phone with monthly data plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Cell phone with “pay as you go” plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Washer and dryer in your home
Use coin laundry room in apartment complex
Laundromat 5 miles away
Multiple grocery stores and other retail outlets ½ mile from home.
One local grocery store 2 miles from home or local convenience store.
Local convenience store is only source of food.
$75 left each week after paying for bills and food.
$50 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Less than $25 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayNow that you have budgeted your income, you have a difficult decision to make.
Your 9-year-old son has developed a painful, infected tooth. The only way for him to get the dental care he needs is for you to make some tough choices. Without dental insurance, you’ll have to cover the cost out of pocket. This means sacrificing two tokens from your budget. Your son’s health comes first, but now you must find a way to redistribute what’s left. Two tokens have been removed from your budget. Please click next to continue.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
Please rearrange your remaining 13 tokens before moving forward. Distribute your tokens, making sure to place at least one token in each category. Click Next to continue.
3-bedroom single-family home rental with small yard close to school
2-bedroom apartment with no yard
Cramped 2-bedroom apartment in public housing with safety concerns
Health insurance for you and your family; can make appointments with family doctor
Health insurance for you through your employer; no other family members are insured
No health insurance, must rely on urgent care and emergency room visits; pay out of pocket
Groceries for 3 meals a day and snacks in between, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 2 meals a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 1 meal a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Own your own car
Walk most places; use public transportation or ride-sharing when necessary
Walk or bike everywhere; cannot afford public transportation on a regular basis
Cell phone with monthly data plan and computer with Wi-Fi at home
Cell phone with monthly data plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Cell phone with “pay as you go” plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Washer and dryer in your home
Use coin laundry room in apartment complex
Laundromat 5 miles away
Multiple grocery stores and other retail outlets ½ mile from home.
One local grocery store 2 miles from home or local convenience store.
Local convenience store is only source of food.
$75 left each week after paying for bills and food.
$50 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Less than $25 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayReflection: You’re starting to feel the impact of a reduction in your resources, which begins to affect your comfort and stability. This first adjustment might seem manageable, but consider how it sets the stage for future challenges. How might this one change start to influence other parts of your life? Maybe your health, your ability to balance work and family, or even your emotional well-being? What about your children? How could this reduction in resources affect their education and readiness for school? In thinking about what comes next, what categories will you prioritize as the most important?
Pause to reflect, then click Next to continue.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayNow that you have begun to adjust to the reduction in your resources, you have another difficult decision to make.
Your employer has just informed you that there isn’t enough business to keep you on full-time. Your hours are being cut back. This means a serious reduction in your income—two tokens have been removed from your budget. You’ll need to make every remaining token count. Please click next to continue.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
Please redistribute your remaining 11 tokens across all categories before moving forward. Once you are done distributing your tokens, click Next to continue.
3-bedroom single-family home rental with small yard close to school
2-bedroom apartment with no yard
Cramped 2-bedroom apartment in public housing with safety concerns
Health insurance for you and your family; can make appointments with family doctor
Health insurance for you through your employer; no other family members are insured
No health insurance, must rely on urgent care and emergency room visits; pay out of pocket
Groceries for 3 meals a day and snacks in between, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 2 meals a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 1 meal a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Own your own car
Walk most places; use public transportation or ride-sharing when necessary
Walk or bike everywhere; cannot afford public transportation on a regular basis
Cell phone with monthly data plan and computer with Wi-Fi at home
Cell phone with monthly data plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Cell phone with “pay as you go” plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Washer and dryer in your home
Use coin laundry room in apartment complex
Laundromat 5 miles away
Multiple grocery stores and other retail outlets ½ mile from home.
One local grocery store 2 miles from home or local convenience store.
Local convenience store is only source of food.
$75 left each week after paying for bills and food.
$50 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Less than $25 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayReflection: You’ve been forced to make tough decisions because of the services and resources you’ve lost. You may start to feel the growing weight of these decisions on your day-to-day life. These cuts will force you to choose between essential needs. What impact do you expect this to have on you and your family?
Take a moment to pause and reflect. Click Next to continue.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayDid any of these issues come to mind?
Accessing Resources
- If your limited income requires you to go to the library for access to a computer and WiFi, how would it affect your children’s ability to complete their schoolwork and their readiness for school?
- How would you shift time in your schedule to make the trip so they could access these resources?
Transportation
- How would living without a car impact the time you spend commuting to and from work?
- Without reliable transportation, what other parts of your life would be affected?
- Would running errands or accessing essential services, like grocery shopping or medical appointments, become more challenging?
- Would it limit the time you have to spend with your family before and after work?
- How would it change your ability to help your children get ready for school?
Growth and Development
- What would happen if you couldn’t purchase enough food to sustain you and your children?
- How could that begin to affect their growth and development?
- How would it affect their social-emotional well-being?
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayAfter even further reduction in your resources, you will face another difficult decision.
Your after-school childcare provider—the one you’ve relied on—has decided to retire. Now, the only option for childcare nearby is much more expensive. This unexpected change means you’ve lost two more tokens from your budget. With only 9 tokens left, you’ll need to make some hard choices. Please click next to continue.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
Please redistribute your remaining tokens across all categories before moving forward. Once you are done distributing your tokens, click Next to continue.
3-bedroom single-family home rental with small yard close to school
2-bedroom apartment with no yard
Cramped 2-bedroom apartment in public housing with safety concerns
Health insurance for you and your family; can make appointments with family doctor
Health insurance for you through your employer; no other family members are insured
No health insurance, must rely on urgent care and emergency room visits; pay out of pocket
Groceries for 3 meals a day and snacks in between, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 2 meals a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Groceries for 1 meal a day, with limited fruits, vegetables, and meat
Own your own car
Walk most places; use public transportation or ride-sharing when necessary
Walk or bike everywhere; cannot afford public transportation on a regular basis
Cell phone with monthly data plan and computer with Wi-Fi at home
Cell phone with monthly data plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Cell phone with “pay as you go” plan; must go to library to use computer and Wi-Fi
Washer and dryer in your home
Use coin laundry room in apartment complex
Laundromat 5 miles away
Multiple grocery stores and other retail outlets ½ mile from home.
One local grocery store 2 miles from home or local convenience store.
Local convenience store is only source of food.
$75 left each week after paying for bills and food.
$50 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Less than $25 left each week after paying for bills and food.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every DayReflection: As your resources continue to shift dramatically, the decisions you need to make are getting even harder. Living on a limited income forces hardworking people to make impossible choices. How will you manage the impact of these combined challenges on your overall well-being and maintaining a stable home?
As you reflect, consider how these cumulative setbacks are shaping not just your finances, but the emotional and practical hardships for you and your children. In the reflection box below, please share your response to these questions and how this exercise has impacted your understanding of the challenges that families living on a limited income face every day.
Making Ends Meet
A Simulation Demonstrating the Difficult Decisions Families Living on a Low Income Make Every Day
Thank you for completing this simulation. We hope that it has provided you with a better understanding of the challenging decisions that families face every day when trying to cover basic expenses on a limited income. In Virginia, approximately 11 percent of children estimated to be living in poverty are identified as homeless by our public schools.
Click here to email this activity to yourself for further reflection.
Please consider sharing this simulation with others to highlight for them the significant barriers faced by families throughout Virginia.
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Project HOPE-Virginia is the Office of the State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
If you know a child or youth who might be experiencing homelessness, visit www.projecthopevirginia.org to connect with your local school division’s McKinney-Vento liaison.