Adding and subtracting amounts of money in pounds and pence, keeping decimal points aligned.
Where your child meets this in real life: Adding up shopping bills, calculating total costs, or finding combined prices
SEAGReady breaks add and subtract money into 2 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Add or subtract two money amounts, expressing answers in correct money format (£X.XX)
Calculate totals from 3 or more money amounts, organising work clearly
Three free sample questions from our add and subtract money course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Sean buys a pencil case for £3.25 and a ruler for £1.48. How much does he spend altogether?
Answer: A. £4.73
Line up the decimal points: 3.25 + 1.48 ------ Hundredths: 5 + 8 = 13 (write 3, carry 1) Tenths: 2 + 4 + 1 = 7 Pounds: 3 + 1 = 4 Answer: £4.73
Stuck? Start here: Line up the decimal points so pounds are above pounds and pence are above pence.
Ciara buys a sandwich for £2.45, a banana for £0.35, and a drink for £1.20 from the school canteen. What is the total cost?
Answer: A. £4.00
Line up all three amounts: 2.45 0.35 + 1.20 ------ Hundredths: 5 + 5 + 0 = 10 (write 0, carry 1) Tenths: 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 (write 0, carry 1) Pounds: 2 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 4 Answer: £4.00
Stuck? Start here: Line up all three amounts by their decimal points.
Aoife has £9.50 in her purse. She spends £3.25 on a magazine. How much does she have left?
Answer: A. £6.25
Line up the decimal points: 9.50 - 3.25 ------ Hundredths: 0 - 5 needs borrowing 5 tenths becomes 4 tenths, 0 becomes 10 10 - 5 = 5 (hundredths) Tenths: 4 - 2 = 2 Pounds: 9 - 3 = 6 Answer: £6.25
Stuck? Start here: Aoife is spending money, so this is a subtraction.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Caitlin buys a sandwich for £4.75 and a juice for £1.68.
How much does she spend altogether?
£4.75 + £1.68
Step 1 of 5
Caitlin buys a sandwich for £4.75 and a juice for £1.68.
How much does she spend altogether?
Caitlin spends £6.43 altogether.
The key insight: Money works just like decimals - always keep the decimal points lined up!
Watch out: Writing £6.4 or £6.430. Money always has exactly 2 decimal places. Write £6.43, not £6.4 or £6.430.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in add and subtract money, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with add and subtract money? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.