Part I: Identifying Income and Expenses:

Step 1 - Choose a Career: The idea behind this step is to research the actual salaries available for your chosen career. Utilize the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Once the starting salary has been identified, write that information down on the following line $______.

Step 2 – Identify the Federal / State / and FICA taxes: The key to understanding the wealth of an income, is to understand the total money an individual takes home after the taxes have been taken out of the individual check. In this step, the student will subtract from their yearly income the Federal Income Tax commitment, the FICA commitment (See information below), and the State Tax commitment. Remember, you will be filing as a single income earner.

2009 FICA Tax and Social Security Limits

  • FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%
  • Social Security Limit = $128,00
  • Maximum Social Security Contribution = $10,610.55

Remember, the student must identify their salary, tax their salary up to $128,700 at a rate of 7.65 %.

Federal Income Tax: ______

State Income Tax: ______

FICA Tax:

Step 3 – Identify your Net Yearly and Monthly Income: This is simple mathematics.

Part 1: Total your Federal, State, and FICA taxes.

Part 2: Subtract total tax from total income. This gives you your yearly net income.

Step 3: Take your yearly net income and divide it by 12, giving you your monthly net income.

Step 4 – Identify the School that you plan on attending: Make sure this institution has your program. Identify the following:

Yearly Tuition: ______

Total Tuition: ______

Total Estimated Loan: ______

Step 5 – IdentifyMonthlyCollege Loan Expense: the purpose behind this is to identify how much of a financial commitment you will have to make per month, once you have begun to pay for your college loan. Utilize the following College Loan Calculator. Please fill in the field with the following criteria.

Loan Balance: Based upon your total college loan.

Interest Rate:6.5 %

Loan Fees:0%

Loan Term: 10 Years

Minimum Payment:$50

MonthlyCollege Loan Payment:______

Step 6 – Housing: Students are to research either affordable housing or apartments. All housing expenses must be presented in the form of a monthly mortgage payment, or a monthly rent payment.

Monthly Housing Expense: ______

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Step 7 –Utilities: The following step will involve the student identifying the necessary and luxury items that fall into the utilities category. This information can be gotten from either a parent (asking them to divulge monthly expenses for utilities), or by contacting vendors personally. Note: all information must be in the form of a monthly payment.

Electric:______

Heat (Included in housing expenses if you are a renter) ______

Auto Insurance: ______

Cable T.V. ______

Phone: ______

Cell phone: ______

Internet Access: ______

Water (Included in housing expenses if you are a renter) ______

Gasoline / Month: ______

Clothing Allowance: ______

Total Utilities: ______

Step 8 – Auto Loan: Students are to assume that their parents will not be able to provide them with a vehicle. Students must also realize that holding down a job depends on their ability to actually get to that job in a reliable and prompt fashion. Therefore, students will need to purchase a vehicle to get to and from work. This does not require the purchase of a brand new auto. You may utilize this auto loan calculator to identify the monthly payment.

Make: ______

Model: ______

Year: ______

Cost: ______

Step 9 – Monthly Food Expense: Students need to realize they will have to set aside money to provide for one of the most fundamental needs, food. Students are to seek out help from the individual within the household responsible for food shopping, to determine a realistic price a single individual would need during the course of a month.

Grocery Money: ______

Step 10 – Savings: One of the most important steps to securing a financially sound future, is to recognize the need to save, and save at a young age. You should try to save anywhere from 8% - 20% of your gross (total) income. This is very difficult; however, it will pay great dividends down the road.

Monthly Savings: ______

Part II: Developing a Budget

Students will complete the following table, identifying inflows (Income) and outflows (debts). The idea behind such an exercise is to map out the actual numbers involved in the decision making process and resource allocation that occurs within the average household. This map will hopefully give you a better idea as to what you can and cannot afford to do.

Item / Category / Inflow + (Income) / Outflow - (Debt) / Balance
1 / Gross Income (+)
2 / Federal Tax (-)
3 / FICA (-)
4 / State Income (-)
5 / Total Tax
Subtract Total Tax from Gross Income = Net Income
6 / Net Income
7 / Net Monthly Income (Net Income / 12 Months)
8 / College Loans
9 / Housing Expenses
10 / Utilities
11 / Auto Loan
12 / Food Expenses
13 / Savings

Part III: Observations

The student will, upon completion of Part II, write in a brief essay (no more than one page, double spaced) identifying some observations they made throughout this process. These observations should include a discussion on how individual choices and decisions were impacted by the economic reality of such an exercise.

Opportunity Cost Calculation for In-State Public University

Public Two Year / Public Four-Year In-State / Public Four-Year Out-of-State / Private Four-Year
Tuition and Fees
2015 – 16 / $3,435 / $9,410 / $23,893 / $32,405
Room and Board
2015 – 16 / $8,003 / $10,138 / $10,138 / $11,516
Tuition and Fees and Room and Board
2015 – 16 / $11,438 / $19,548 / $34,031 / $43, 921

Tuition and Fees

The State University of New York remains committed to providing students with the best education possible at an affordable cost. In addition,financial assistanceis available to help you meet these costs.

2015-16 Typical Expenses for Undergraduate Students at a SUNY College

State-Operated Campuses Baccalaureate Degree Programs
State-operated campuses include University Centers, University Colleges and Technology Colleges.
New York State Residents / Out-of-State Residents2
Living on Campus / Commuter / Living on Campus
Direct Costs5
Tuition / $6,470 / $6,470 / $16,3203
Student Fees1 / $1,510 / $1,510 / $1,510
Room and Board / $12,150 / $3,860 / $12,150
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS / $20,130 / $11,840 / $29,980
Indirect Costs6
Books and Supplies / $1,340 / $1,340 / $1,340
Personal Expenses / $1,500 / $1,590 / $1,500
Transportation / $1,050 / $1,890 / $1,150
TOTAL INDIRECT COST / $3,890 / $4,820 / $3,990
Community Colleges Associate Degree Programs
In-State/In-District / Out-of-State Residents2
Living on Campus / Commuter / Living on Campus
Direct Costs5
Tuition4 / $4,210 / $4,210 / $8,750
Student Fees1 / $610 / $610 / $610
Room and Board / $10,180 / $3,770 / $10,180
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS / $15,000 / $8,590 / $19,540
Indirect Costs6
Books and Supplies / $1,320 / $1,320 / $1,320
Personal Expenses / $1,160 / $1,180 / $1,160
Transportation / $1,280 / $1,680 / $1,380
TOTAL INDIRECT COST / $3,760 / $4,180 / $3,86