Question: How do I determine how much to charge for The Money Game?

A. I always suggest reverse engineering the program and you can do that in many ways.

  • First, if you’re going to provide this program for an existing organization, ask them what length program and what price points have worked best in the past with parents.
  • Once you determine this, see how it fits into the structures outlined above in terms of hours and rounds of the game that you think you can do in the time frame that parents like best.
  • Now ask yourself, “What do I want to earn per hour?” This is where most people short change themselves. It’s a proven fact that people undercharge for their services. Yes, in the beginning, in order to establish a reputation, you might want to price it a little lower but it’s really up to you. Sometimes that backfires and the group you’re doing it for will continue to expect it for less so just think it through first.

A. Price ideas:

  • Let’s say you determine you’re going to offer a 3 hour program for your local church group. You want to make $75 per hour. In this case, set your price at $225 plus $50 in materials fees for a total of $275.
  • Let’s say a family calls you and wants you to do the program for a group of kids for a family reunion. (We’ve done this.) You need to have a sense of the families financial ability to pay but our experience shows that families only request this sort of program when they HAVE the ability to pay. For a 3 hour program, we suggest you charge around $500. For an all-day program, give them a starting figure of $1000 and note their reaction. It’s much easier to discount the program to get the job than offer to do it for less than you could have.

Hope this helps you structure and price your Money Game programs to the mutual benefit of you and your participants!