Task: Balance Zoe’s Bucks

NAME:DATE:

Scenario:

Zoe is a college student who works part time and lives at home with her parents. She is paid every two weeks. Her parents require her to work to be able to pay for her car insurance, college books, gas, entertainment, and any other wants she might have.

Directions:

Use the information below to logZoe’s payments and deposits in her checking account register.

TuesdayDuring her lunch break, Zoe opens a checking account with her first paycheck. She worked 40 hours over the past two weeks. Her paycheck totaled $280 after taxes were taken out. Enter this amount as the first entry in the register.

On the way home from work Zoe stopsto fill her car up with gas. Gas was $3.69 a gallon and she pumped 15 gallons into the car. She swipes her debit card to pay for the gas.

WednesdayZoe received her car insurance bill in the mail today. She writes a check for$115 to pay the bill. Record the amount for check #101 in her check register.

SaturdayThe neighbors call to ask Zoe if she can babysit Friday night while they go out for dinner. She gladly accepts the job offer and spends four hours with the neighbor’s children. They pay her $15 an hour. She deposits the full amount into her checking account on Monday.

Zoe and her friends go to the movie on Saturday night. The price of admission is $12, and she also buys popcorn and a soda for $6.50. She uses her debit card twice at the theatre to pay for her entertainment purchases.

MondayThe professor in Zoe’s finance class at the university tells the students that they will need to purchase a book by the next class. The cost is $175. Zoe realizes she does not have enough money in her checking account to pay for the book but she writes a check for it anyway. She is hoping that her next paycheck will be deposited before this check goes through the bank.

FridayWhen she checks her account balance online, Zoesees that she was charged $36 the previous day for overdrawing on her account. Unfortunately for her, her last check was deducted from her account before her next paycheck was deposited.

During the pasttwo weeks Zoe worked 42 hours at $7.50 an hour. From the total pay,
$27 was taken out for taxes. Recordthe net pay that was automatically deposited into
her account today.

Zoe’s Checking Account Register

Check No. / Date / Description of Transaction / Payment/
Debit (—) / Deposit/
Credit (+) / Balance

©2012 National Endowment for Financial Education Balance Zoe’s Bucks

High School Financial Planning ProgramApril 2013