Personal Management teaches you to handle money and time, two things everyone needs to manage well. You'll make a budget, learn about saving and investing, and plan your schedule. These are skills you'll use for the rest of your life.
Why it's worth it
Money and time are two things you'll manage every day for the rest of your life, and most adults wish someone had taught them earlier. This badge gives you a head start: you'll build a real budget, see how interest can work for you or against you, and learn to plan a week so the important things actually happen. Those skills help you save for a bike, a car, college, or a trade program, and they make you the person your patrol trusts to run the money for a campout.
Start this week
- Start tracking every dollar you get and spend today, even small things. A notebook or a note on your phone works.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Personal Management counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Ask a parent about a purchase your family is planning, like a laptop or an appliance, that you could research for requirement 1.
- Pick a career you're curious about for requirement 10 and write down three questions you have about it.
Plan ahead: Requirement 2 asks you to track a budget for 13 weeks. Start it first, and do the other requirements while it runs.
Requirements · 10
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
Saving and shopping for a major purchase
Tips for this section: Pick a real purchase your family is planning and compare prices at a few stores or websites.
Example for this section: With your family, research a new refrigerator: decide on must-have features, compare three models on price, energy use, and reviews, check for sales or rebates, and figure out how many weeks of saving it would take.
- Requirement 1a
Pick a big-ticket item your family might want to buy
- Requirement 1b
Write a plan for how your family could save up for the item from 1a
- Requirement 1b1
Go over the savings plan with your counselor
- Requirement 1b2
Go over the savings plan with your family
- Requirement 1b3
Discuss how the plan has to account for your family's other needs
- Requirement 1c
Write a shopping strategy for the item from 1a
- Requirement 1c1
Use consumer publications or rating systems to judge how good the item or service is
- Requirement 1c2
Comparison shop for the best price, with prices from at least two sources. Call stores, check ads, look for sales or coupons, and weigh alternatives, such as buying used or waiting for a sale
- Requirement 2
Budget
Tips for this section: Use a notebook or spreadsheet to track every dollar you earn and spend. Check it every week.
Example for this section: Your budget might list income from allowance, chores, or babysitting, then planned spending: savings, troop dues, snacks, a gift, and a long-term goal. Each week, write what you actually spent next to the plan.
- Requirement 2a
Make a budget for 13 weeks in a row showing your expected income (such as allowance, gifts, or pay), expenses, and savings
- Requirement 2b
Compare the income you expect with the expenses you expect
- Requirement 2b1
If expenses are more than income, figure out how to balance your budget
- Requirement 2b2
If income is more than expenses, say how you'd use the extra, like a new goal or savings
- Requirement 2c
Track your real income, expenses, and savings for the same 13 weeks you budgeted, using the pamphlet's forms, your own, or a computer version. Show your counselor the finished records
- Requirement 2d
Compare your budget with what really happened to see when it worked and when it didn't. Discuss with your counselor what you might change next time
- Requirement 3
Money and you. Choose 5 of 8
Tips for this section: Think about times you've bought something on impulse or felt good about saving, and talk about those feelings.
Example for this section: Think of real moments: buying something because a friend had it, feeling proud after saving for a month, or regretting an impulse snack run. Talk about why each happened and how you'd decide next time.
- Requirement 3a
Discuss with your counselor how you feel when you get money
- Requirement 3b
Discuss how the amount of money you carry changes the way you spend
- Requirement 3c
Discuss how you felt about something new right after buying it and three months later, and explain buyer's remorse
- Requirement 3d
Discuss how being hungry affects you when you shop for food like snacks or groceries
- Requirement 3e
Discuss something you bought after seeing or hearing ads for it, and whether it worked as well as the ads claimed
- Requirement 3f
Discuss what happens to money you put into a savings account
- Requirement 3g
Discuss charitable giving: what it's for and what you think about it
- Requirement 3h
Discuss ways you could manage your money better
- Requirement 4
Saving and investing
Tips for this section: Ask a parent or banker to explain how interest helps savings grow over time.
Example for this section: Use a compound interest calculator to show how $20 a month grows at different rates over 10 and 30 years. Then explain why putting all your savings in one place is riskier than spreading it out.
- Requirement 4a
Explain to your counselor how saving and investing differ and why you'd choose one or the other
- Requirement 4b
Explain return on investment, risk, and how the two are connected
- Requirement 4c
Explain simple interest and compound interest
- Requirement 4d
Explain what diversification means in investing
- Requirement 4e
Explain why saving and investing for retirement is important
- Requirement 5
Types of investments
Tips for this section: Look up how stocks and mutual funds work, and talk with your counselor about what you learned.
- Requirement 5a
Explain to your counselor what common stocks are and how they work
- Requirement 5b
Explain what mutual funds are and how they work
- Requirement 5c
Explain what life insurance is and how it works as an investment
- Requirement 5d
Explain what a certificate of deposit (CD) is and how it works
- Requirement 5e
Explain what a savings account is and how it works
- Requirement 5f
Explain what a U.S. savings bond is and how it works
- Requirement 6
Insurance
Tips for this section: Ask a parent which kinds of insurance your family has and why.
- Requirement 6a
Explain to your counselor why people buy auto insurance and how it works
- Requirement 6b
Explain why people buy health insurance and how it works
- Requirement 6c
Explain why people buy homeowner's or renter's insurance and how it works
- Requirement 6d
Explain why people buy whole life and term life insurance and how each works
- Requirement 7
Loans and credit
Tips for this section: Talk with an adult about how loans and credit cards work and why paying on time matters.
- Requirement 7a
Explain to your counselor loans and interest, and how the annual percentage rate (APR) shows what borrowing really costs
- Requirement 7b
Explain the different ways people can borrow money
- Requirement 7c
Explain how charge, debit, and credit cards differ, their costs and pitfalls, and why paying only the minimum on a credit card is a bad idea
- Requirement 7d
Explain credit reports and how your own choices can affect yours
- Requirement 7e
Explain ways to cut down or get rid of debt
- Requirement 8
Time management
Tips for this section: Write out your week before it starts, then check each night how it went.
Example for this section: Before the week starts, block out school, homework, practice, Scout meeting, chores, and free time. Each night, mark what happened. At the end, talk about where time leaked away and what you'd change.
- Requirement 8a
Write a to-do list of things you need to get done next week, like homework, chores, and personal projects, ranked by how important they are to you
- Requirement 8b
Make a seven-day schedule. Fill in fixed activities (such as classes, practices or games, jobs or chores, and Scout, worship, or club meetings), then plan when you'll do each to-do item around them
- Requirement 8c
Follow your one-week schedule. Keep a diary or journal each of the seven days noting when you actually finished each to-do item versus when you planned it
- Requirement 8d
With your counselor, go over your to-do list, schedule, and journal to see when your plan worked and when it didn't. Discuss what you might change next time
- Requirement 9
Write a project plan on paper (not a real project), such as a campout, a service project, a school or religious event, or a patrol plan with activities beyond the troop's annual plan. Include the desired outcome and 9a through 9e, then discuss it with your counselor
Tip: Pick a project to plan on paper, like a campout or a service project. You don't have to carry it out, just break it into clear steps.
For example: Plan a project on paper, like your patrol's campout: state the goal, describe the trip, make a timeline (survey the patrol, plan meals, shop, pack), list the resources you'd need and how each helps, and make a budget.
- Requirement 9a
Define the project and its goal
- Requirement 9b
Make a timeline of the steps from start to finish
- Requirement 9c
Describe the project
- Requirement 9d
List the resources you'll need and how each one helps you reach your goal
- Requirement 9e
Make a budget for the project
- Requirement 10
Career costs
Tips for this section: Pick a career that interests you and find out what training it needs and what it costs.
- Requirement 10a
Pick a career you might want after high school or college. Discuss with your counselor the qualifications, education, skills, and experience it takes
- Requirement 10b
Explain to your counselor what it might cost to prepare for that career, such as tuition, supplies, and room and board, how you could get ready for those costs, and how you might cover any gap
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A bank or credit union branch
Staff can explain savings accounts, interest, and how loans and credit reports work.
How: A parent or leader can call and ask whether a staff member gives financial literacy talks to youth groups. Many credit unions do.
Where it can lead
- Financial plannerHelps families plan budgets, savings, and retirement.
- Accountant or bookkeeperKeeps track of money for businesses; bookkeepers often start with a certificate, accountants with a degree.
- Bank or credit union tellerHelps customers with deposits and accounts; often a first job right after high school.
- Project managerPlans the steps, schedule, and budget for big projects, from buildings to software.
Ask yourself
- What did tracking your spending show you that surprised you?
- When do you find it hardest to stick to a budget or a schedule?
- How do your feelings affect how you spend money?
- What are you saving for, and what would help you get there faster?
- Which skill from this badge do you think you'll use most in the next five years?
Good questions to ask your counselor or someone who works at a bank or credit union
- What money habit do you wish you had started at my age?
- How do you decide whether something is worth buying on credit?
- What should I know before opening my first savings account?
- How do you plan your week when there's more to do than time to do it?
- What mistakes do young people make with their first paycheck?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Remind scouts that the 13-week budget takes time, so they should start early.
- Invite a banker or financial educator to explain budgeting and saving to the troop.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (opens in a new tab) — Clear info on money, credit, and saving.
- Local bank or credit union — Staff can explain savings accounts and loans.
- Investor.gov (opens in a new tab) — Basics of saving and investing from the SEC.
- MyMoney.gov (opens in a new tab) — The government's guide to earning, saving, spending, and borrowing.
- Investor.gov Compound Interest Calculator (opens in a new tab) — See how savings grow over time at different interest rates.
- CareerOneStop (opens in a new tab) — Research careers, pay, and training costs, from the U.S. Department of Labor.
- FDIC Consumer Resource Center (opens in a new tab) — Learn how bank accounts and deposit insurance work.
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.