Budget+Project

=Personal Budget Project= //**"Money’s tight, and not that free. Won’t somebody come and rescue me?” –Stevie Ray Vaughn**//

=Due Date: Friday, September 3rd=

Objectives:
• Each student will develop and understanding of the importance of developing a personal budget and monthly schedule of payments of debts, in order to meet their possible future needs and responsibilities.

Your Current Situation (these are the things you must factor in to your budget):
• You are in your first year of school at SDSU • You have already paid tuition and bought your books for the current semester. Don’t worry about paying these expenses now, but understand that you should be working on saving enough money to pay for the next semester. You have six months to save. So don’t spend too much per month on “extras”. Undergraduate tuition at State is currently $1600.00 per semester (including fees), plus $700.00 for books and supplies. Your goal is to save enough money per month so you’re not a “one and done” student (one semester of school and then drop out). **In other words, you will owe $2300.00 in 6 months.** • Your carry a full load of courses. Your 12 credit hours per semester require you to spend 25 hours per week in class and studying to maintain a “C” average (nothing else is acceptable, but more is great!). • You have a job that pays you **$1500 per month**. You cannot work any more than 40 hours a week, because it will adversely affect your grades and Mom & Dad will be REALLY mad! • You must live in an off-campus apartment while attending State. Choose an apartment from the San Diego Union Tribune, or other reputable apartment listing publication (copy of this week’s listing is attached). Your apartment should ideally be located either near school, be accessible by car (if you have a car, you are now responsible for car payments, insurance, parking fees, repair etc.—not parents), or be within a feasible mass transit route. You may not live at home—you’ve spent 18 years there and your parents have turned your room into a gym/sewing room. So cut the umbilical cord and GET OUT! • **You have no current savings** and your parents say that, “Poverty builds Character.” Can you save enough money for tuition and books next semester and live in a manner with which you feel comfortable? • Your budget—broken out in monthly and 6-month form—should take the following into account. Include “hard-copy” evidence whenever possible to back up the numbers you’ve come up with. Bold items (left column) are required expenses everyone must have, the others (right column) are possible options you may want to consider and can be expanded upon:

◊ Rent: How are you willing to live? Unless stated otherwise, assume extra month’s rent for desposit ◊ Utilities: $50.00/month ◊ Phone Bill: $20.00/month ◊ Dry Cleaning of Work Uniform/Laundry: $20.00/month ◊ Food: $200/month
 * Required Student Expenses**

◊ Car Insurance/Loan/Service (if owned): find a reasonable estimate for you on your own ◊ Credit Card: $20.00 monthly minimum charge (can carry $100.00 balance) ◊ Clothes: Is it better to look good than eat? ◊ Entertainment: How many burritos and movies can you afford? ◊ Basic Cable TV: $35.00/month ◊ Internet Service Provider: $20.00/month
 * Optional Student Expenses (You may have more)**

• Students in class may work together in groups, as though they are living together and sharing expenses. No more than 3 to a group—otherwise you’d want to kill your roommates (and that will get you kicked out of school!) If you’re not living with someone in this class, you live alone (no fake roommates and no one from other classes!) • Students/roommates will submit a report of budgets and supporting evidence in two weeks. Presentations should include (but are not limited to) the following: ◊ A realistic approach to making wise personal finance decisions. Don’t get cute or try to “cheat the system!” ◊ A budget created in a spreadsheet application (e.g., Excel, Google Spreadsheets, etc.), with a column for monthly expenses, 6-month running total, and a BLANK column at the far right). ◊ As much documentation of “real-life” expenses as possible (apartment ad, auto insurance quote, loan payment statement, bus passes, etc.) {include a Mapquest or Google Earth shot of your apt. in relation to SDSU if address given} ◊ A one-page TYPED write-up (per group or individual) answering the following: 1) Where you chose to live; 2) What you spent your money one, and why; 3) How much money you spent and saved; 4) How hard was it to make the decisions you did regarding expenditures and savings; 5) Will you save enough money to go to school next semester (NOTE: answering “no” to the last question means you have failed the project…you better answer “YES”).

DUE DATE: _ BUDGET: __25 pts.__ EVIDENCE & WRITE-UP:___25 pts.__

=Sample Spreadsheet:=

media type="custom" key="534641"

=Excel / Spreadsheet Tips:=
 * To write a formula, start with =
 * To total a sum in a total, enter: =sum(a1:a6) {or whatever cells you need to capture}
 * To create a 6-month projection, enter: =a6*6 {or whatever cells you need to capture}