
Lesson
Debt Repayment
Summary
Predatory loans can sink a budget faster than any credit card, and escaping them requires the right strategy. This lesson exposes the mechanics of debt traps and equips students with the snowball and avalanche methods to climb out.
Bellringer: The 391% Loan
- Read the payday loan scenario aloud; give students one minute to decide.
- Reveal the 391% APR and discuss the trade-off between immediate need and long-term cost.
Instruction
- Define predatory loans and their triple-digit APR characteristics.
- Walk through payday loans, title loans, and rent-to-own, then contrast the snowball and avalanche strategies.
Discussion: Order the Debts
- Divide class into teams to build snowball and avalanche attack lists for Marcus, Jess, Leo, and Elena.
- Reveal solutions and highlight why the paths to $0 differ despite equal total debt.
Activity: Advanced Budgeting
- Have students finish the Advanced Budgeting game.
- Complete the vocab practice and posttest on the final day.
Wrap-Up & Assessment
- What makes a loan predatory?
- When does the debt avalanche method save more money than the debt snowball?
| Est. Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 6 min | Bellringer: The 391% Loan |
|
| 10 min | Instruction |
|
| 13 min | Discussion: Order the Debts |
|
| 13 min | Activity: Advanced Budgeting |
|
| 3 min | Wrap-Up & Assessment |
|
Lesson Prep

Advanced Budgeting
Students continue playing the Advanced Budgeting game.

Advanced Budgeting Vocab
Review the vocab terms from Advanced Budgeting.

Advanced Budgeting Posttest
Discover what students have learned.
Class Presentation
Includes a 20-slide deck with teacher notes. Present from Banzai, download a PDF, or copy it to Google Slides.
Presentations, Ready to Go
- Built-in PresentationPresent full screen, straight from Banzai
- Copy to Google SlidesMake an editable copy for your class
- Download or PrintSave as a PDF or print
- Teacher NotesSlide-by-slide guidance, printable as one handout
Unit 6: Credit & Debt Fundamentals

Credit Reports
Before there's a score, there's a report. This lesson outlines what a credit report is, where it comes from, how to read it, and how to fix it.

Credit Card Basics
A credit card isn't free money. It's a high-interest loan with a grace period attached. This lesson unpacks how credit cards actually work, why APR matters, and kicks off the Advanced Budgeting simulation.

Debt Repayment
Predatory loans can sink a budget faster than any credit card, and escaping them requires the right strategy. This lesson exposes the mechanics of debt traps and equips students with the snowball and avalanche methods to climb out.
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