Handling cash and supermarket shopping

Almost every day you will need to handle cash, maybe to pay the milkman or to buy your favourite chocolate treat at the newsagents. This section will help you to see how confident you are with cash and how to improve your confidence levels. Start by taking the quick 7 question quiz below.

There are some simple methods you can use to check your change.

Method1
counting on in ones and tens.
This is what shopkeepers do when they count your change into your hand.

For example. You buy sweets for 65p and give £1 to the shop keeper.

5p then 3 lots of 10p = 35p

Activity: Why don't you try counting on?

Method2
use near numbers & adjust.
This is a quick rounding up and estimation process.

65p is near 70p.

£1 - 70p = 30p
add              5p
                 35p

Now why don't you try the examples on the right, check your answers by clicking 'had a go?' on each.

Supermarket shopping
Shopping can be really difficult. The children asking for sweets, the baby crying in the trolley and then you get to the checkout and you've spent too much!

There are two things you could do to help next time you go shopping.

Rounding up
Rounding means to express a number to a required degree of accuracy.

Rounding up means estimating the cost of what you buy. The apples cost 39p but you round it up to 40p. So as you shop you add up in your head but you overestimate. This way, you'll always have enough money at the checkout. For example;

Activity: Now you have a go.
The supermarket's actual price is shown next to each item. In the box beside the price, round up to the nearest 10p. When have an answer correct you will be told. Try and get them all.

Activity: Now why not try some more cash counting excercises with the Money Matters to me interactive drinks machine simulator.