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Paired Texts > Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead

by Sophia Reichert 2023

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Serving in Florida: Excerpt from
Serving in Florida: Excerpt from "Nickel and Dimed"
Barbara Ehrenreich

In "Serving in Florida: Excerpt from Nickel and Dimed," author Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the first steps and early struggles in her social experiment. 

Pair “Serving in Florida: Excerpt from ‘Nickel and Dimed’” with “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead” and ask students to discuss the role that money plays in each text. How is Barbara Ehrenreich affected by her decision to work for minimum wage in “Serving in Florida: Excerpt from ‘Nickel and Dimed’”? What does she learn about saving and spending money on a minimum wage salary? How might the information in the article “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead” be beneficial for Ehrenreich as she embarks on the social experiment described in her memoir?

11th Grade Memoir 1470L
The Million Pound Bank Note
The Million Pound Bank Note
Mark Twain

In this classic example of Twain comedy, a man gains fame and fortune simply because he is in possession of a large bank note -- without spending a single cent.

Pair “The Million Pound Bank Note” with “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead” and ask students to compare how the two texts from different genres highlight how making financial decisions can impact our lives. How is Henry from “The Million Pound Bank Note” affected by the acquisition of the million pound bank note? What does he decide to do with it, and how does this impact his life? According to the article “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead,” how can creating a spending plan help people make smart financial decisions? What might the author of “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead” advise Henry to do with the million pound bank note?

10th Grade Short Story 910L
Freud's Theory of the Id, Ego, and Superego
Freud's Theory of the Id, Ego, and Superego
CommonLit Staff

The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychotherapy, is credited with the development of the idea of the subconscious: the deepest layer of the human mind, said to be the place where memories, wishes, fears, and dreams are stored. This famous theory, as explored in this text, posits that humans are controlled by their unconscious mind.

Pair “Freud's Theory of the Id, Ego, and Superego” with “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead” and ask students to discuss the role Freud’s theory on human behavior might have in our ability to make smart financial decisions. According to “Freud's Theory of the Id, Ego, and Superego,” how might our unconscious mind affect our behaviors? How do the id, ego and superego impact our thoughts and actions in different ways? Based on the information in the text “Skip the Budget, Make a Spending Plan Instead,” would learning about Freud’s theory on human behavior be helpful for people when creating financial spending plans? Why or why not?

10th Grade Psychology 1300L