Valentine’s Day Math & the “Heart” of Budgeting

Math is a useful tool we can use to help us in everyday situations…including around Valentine’s Day! Here are some math-in-action Valentine ideas:

• Make cards, having the child measure dimensions. Practice simple arithmetic by asking questions such as how much would be on each side if you stuck a 3 in. heart in the middle.
• If eating chocolates, have the student count the total chocolates. Have them figure out how many would be left if they ate 1, 2, etc.
• Find the price per rose if you get a dozen for $24 (or $20 if the student knows decimals).
• Find how much 12 roses would cost if bought individually for $2.50.
• Point out that they can use facts they’ve memorized or step-by-step processes they’ve learned to solve the situations above because God is faithfully holding all things together. Thus $24 divided by 2 always equals $12, 5 chocolates minus 3 will equal 2, etc.
• Discuss the need to keep a budget in mind when deciding how to celebrate things like Valentine’s Day (see below).

The “Heart” of Budgeting

We often don’t think about the cost of ordinary purchases, yet they can add up. According to the NRF, $27.5 billion dollars is expected to be spent on Valentine’s Day this year. That’s a lot of money!

We make choices every holiday about how much we’ll spend. Those choices affect other choices–like how much money we have to give away or to save.

It’s easy to spend a lot on holidays, and retailers make it even easier. A pricey card, fancy restaurant dinner, ornate flowers, and decadent chocolates–the bill could easily reach the averages I saw of around $200. But holidays can also be meaningful with a low price tag, using a homemade card, meal cooked with love, origami flowers, and a homemade dessert. The point is that living expenses like these can vary drastically–and students need taught how to navigate these decisions in different seasons to live within what God gives them and be faithful to other goals (like giving).

If we want to raise students who see their money as God’s and remain free from the love of money we’re warned about in 1 Timothy 6:10, then we need to teach them to look at what God’s entrusted to them and have an overall plan that can then guide these decisions. If they learn to set aside money to give and save and for their bills, it can help them know what is left for things like Valentine’s Day, thereby guarding them against spending more than they meant to due to a marketing pull. The heart of budgeting is to be free to manage resources God gives us with a big (and eternal) picture in mind.

I’m excited about my new Consumer Math course, as it will disciple students on both the mechanics of making a budget and on thinking through both big and little decisions in light of biblical principles. It will help them grasp the heart as well as the how of budgeting. Check out the details I’ve posted about it. I would also greatly appreciate your prayers for everyone working on it as the final editing is completed. I can’t wait to share a preview and more information in the upcoming weeks!