Living on Your Own -- Let's Calculate the Cost!
So you want to live on your own?
Many students dream of the day that they will purchase their first car and the day that they will move out on their own. What does it cost to do these things? Hopefully, this lesson will help you plan and prepare for the things that you want, and will help you make sound economic decisions in the future.
You will complete the following tasks:
1. Compare the costs of apartments.
2. Analyze the costs of getting automobile loans.
3. Calculate the cost of food and entertainment.
4. Calculate how much money you would need in order to pay for an apartment, car, food, and entertainment.
5. Create a PowerPoint Presentation with a minimum of 5 slides, maximum of 8, containing the answers to each question posed in the project.
TO BEGIN:
- Create a new excel workbook/Google Doc titled your first and last name living on your own.
- Inside this workbook, you must have 6 worksheets. They must be labeled
- Apartment
- Utilities
- Food
- Car
- Entertainment
- Budget
Apartment Hunting
1) In your search for a place to live, use the Apartment Search ( Web site to record the following information for 3 apartments, a low, middle and high cost. Record this information on the worksheet labeled Apartment. Remember, all cost must be formatted as currency, with dollar signs and 2 decimal places.
1
2
3
If your apartment does not include Utilities, please determine the following:
Average cost for Heat: approximately $15/monthAverage cost for hot water: approximately $5/month
*Please note: If utilities are not included, the renter will incur further expenditures. Also note that renters are generally responsible for paying for electricity and phone usage. Please factor in an electricity bill of $78.95 and a phone bill of $29.98.
2) Answer the following questions in your presentation:
* Which apartment has the most expensive rent? The least expensive rent?
* How much does it cost to rent each apartment for one year? (Be sure to include the cost of the security deposit and utilities.)
* If you were making a decision about which of these apartments to rent, what factors, in addition to cost, might you consider?
Car Loans
1) Use an auto search engine and choose three cars to research:
Once your choose your car, complete the following:
Term Loan/Lease Chosen:
Loan/Lease Payment:
Gasoline Cost per Month:
Total Car Cost per Month:
*Please note: All car owners are also responsible for paying for gasoline, car maintenance, and auto insurance. Please factor in a minimum of $20.00 a week for gasoline.
Food & Entertainment
1) Using the prices online for a weekly/monthly grocery store trip, answer the following questions:
Make a list of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack items.
Make a list of beverages.
Toiletries and other health necessities.
2) What are some ways to cut down on grocery expenses without cutting any items from your list?
3) Search online for entertainment ideas. Then answer the questions below.
Can you have a dog or cat in your apartment? If so, what are the monthly costs?
Do you want to watch TV? If so, what kind of TV are you buying? Are you getting cable? Do you want a computer instead? Cell phone or land line?
Let's Budget
1) On the worksheet labeled Budget, create the table below using the least expensive values from the Apartment, Utilities, Food, Car, and Entertainment worksheets.
Housing
Utilities
Food
Car
Entertainment
2) Answer the following questions:
In order to meet your minimum needs, how much would you need to earn (after taxes) weekly? Monthly? Yearly?
If you worked 40 hours per week, how much would you need to earn per hour in order to cover your expenses? What if you only worked 25 hours per week?
What other expenses could you incur during the month?
What changes or decisions could you make in order to lower your basic expenses?