Create Your Dream Store – Decimal Math Project

Have students design a store and calculate what it would cost to open. They research rent and supplies, work out payroll and compare the total with an imaginary two-million-dollar budget.
Grades
Grades 5–8
Pages
10
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Apr 15, 2026

Subject
Math, Decimals, Life Skills
Topic
Financial literacy, Decimal operations
Resource types
Projects
Preparation
Print ready
Standards
5.NBT.B.7

Product description

From the author

This is an engaging math project that lets students apply math skills to a realistic situation: opening their own store!

Grades to Use With:

This project is perfect to use with your middle grades students in grades 5-8. It could also be a great addition to a high school life skills class studying finance, business, or careers.

How to Use:

Each of your students has won $2,000,000 in the lottery, and they are going to use it to open their very own store! They create a budget for a new business venture by considering the costs to rent a commercial storefront in your area, pay employees, and buy all of the supplies and stock they will need.

They can do research on the internet to find out the prices of rental properties and the supplies they will need.

They can do decimal calculations by hand or with a calculator. This will include adding decimals and multiplying decimals.

Extension: Students who finish early can create an advertisement to attract customers to their new store.

You could even have a day where each student presents their unique store idea to the class.

What's Included:

Two five-page PDF versions, each with a cover/directions page and four student pages. Create a Store.pdf uses a $12 hourly wage; Dream Store.pdf uses $15. Ten pages are supplied overall.

Standards:

Ccss5.nbt.b.7

Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

CCSS7.NS.A.3

Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving the four operations with rational numbers.

If you enjoy this math project, check out some other options in my store:

Math in the Real World: Personal Math Research Project for STEM, Enrichment, or Early Finishers

Financial Literacy: Household Budget Project: Taxes, Insurance, Loans, Rent, Groceries and More!

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Use multiplication, addition and subtraction to calculate and compare a modeled business budget.

Teaching tips

  • Choose one version before printing: Create a Store.pdf assumes $12 per hour and Dream Store.pdf assumes $15. Treat the wage as a worksheet assumption and adapt it for local examples; this is a simplified budget, not a complete business plan.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Can I simplify the research?

Yes. You can provide sample rental and supply prices or limit the number of inventory items. The source suggests varying the item list to adjust complexity.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

  • 5.NBT.B.7 — Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

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