Wheeler High School Economics Budget Project
Imagine that you are just a year or two out of school, and living and working on your own. Your income is commensurate with the type of job you realistically hope to have (assume the Atlanta area), and the experience that you have yet to get. You will draw an income situation out of a hat that could include some debt obligations.
Phase One: Food Budget and Job description
- Using the menu grid and food budget template, Identify what a typical week’s worth of meals and what its cost would be for you in this situation.
- On the menu grid provided, list what you might have for each meal –Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks. It must be nutritional: Think back to your health classes and what a nutritional meal includes: for a refresher, please visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
- When you have completed your meal plan, on a separate sheet of paper list the items that you will need to purchase from a grocery store or restaurant in order to fulfill your meal plan. Be sure to include condiments, cooking ingredients (oils, spices), as well as specific quantities to the best of your ability.
- Take this shopping list to the grocery store of your choice and “shop” for the food, specifically listing the quantity and price of your food “purchase”. If you have restaurant food on your list, go to those restaurants and price the items you plan to purchase as well – including tip where necessary. Visit for tipping guidelines. Use these prices to calculate your total monthly food budget.
- Food budget: In the excel file provided, the second tab is the food budget template. As you enter your items, price and quantity per month, it will perform the calculation for you to determine the amount of your monthly budget.
- Research the job description that was drawn by visiting http://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm Print out and highlight useful information. Then type a description of this job title, including roles and responsibilities, qualifications, skills, and education. Attach highlighted source from the BLS – Bureau of Labor Statistics website and any other sources you used.
Phase Two: Calculating withholdings ($$ that comes out of your paycheck when given to you)
Based on the income situation that you have previously drawn, you must:
- Calculate your disposable income after federal, state, and payroll (F.I.C.A.) tax withholdings. Please use the forms provided to determine the values of each type of withholding. For federal taxes, find where your income falls between the ranges provided. Then use the amount found un the annual withholding column and place in federal withholding row under the annual column. Complete the math for state withholding and payroll (F.I.C.A.) tax withholdings and place in the appropriate space in your budget. Then subtract each withholding amount from your gross income to determine your disposable income. Double check all math!
- To learn more about filing taxes visit: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/basic_student.jsp?level=basic complete the basic course and print off your certificate for extra credit toward this project. This is an overview of the Form 1040 that all Americans earning income complete and file by April 15th every year.
Phase Three: Housing
Budget your disposable income by providing adequate spending for the following:
- Housing – cost of rent an apartment/condo/townhome/house/etc. In your documentation include the name, location, and size of your residence as well as a picture of the floor plan. Be sure to take note of where your job is located so that in your explanation you can make that a connection to you choice of residence.
- You will also research renters insurance, and calculating utilities costs (water, gas, electricity, internet, and cable – ALL ARE REQUIRED FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PROJECT).
- In some cases utilities are included in the cost of rent. Be sure that if this is the case, you provided documentation that SPECIFICALLY states the cost is included in the rent.
- For gas, electricity, and water the preferred forms of documentation are previous bills from your current residence. Please be sure to black-out all necessary information and make copies so that you can return the original to the necessary person. In most cases these are 3 separate bills. Please speak with the head of your household to receive the correct paperwork. You will then use the cost from each of these bills to determine the cost in your chosen apartment. Here’s how that works:
- For gas cost and electricity cost – you will determine the cost based on the square footage. Therefore, you will need to know the square footage of the residence for which you have a bill. You then need to determine the cost per square foot.
- Use the following formula: cost of bill for current residence = cost per square foot
square feet for current residence
For example – my home is 2150 sq. ft., my electric bill is 190.00. Therefore 190/2150 = $.08 per foot
- Then, using the cost per sq. ft, multiply by the sq. ft. of the residence you’ve chosen to live in for the project.
- Use the following formula: cost per square foot * square footage of project residence
For example – the cost per square foot for electricity is $.08 and my chosen residence for the project is an 850 sq foot apartment. Therefore $.08*850 = $68.00 a month for electricity
- For water – you will determine the cost per person. Therefore, take the bill from you current residence and divide the amount by the number of people living in the house for the month of that bill. That amount will then be what you use for your project.
- You may have up to two roommates, but each roommate must have a separate bedroom in your apartment or house. Each person must have their own budget, and have their own food. In addition, there is a roommate inconvenience charge of 25 dollars a month per roommate. Place this fee in the miscellaneous section of budget sheet.
- Renter’s Insurance: Visit this site to understand why renters insurance is needed and understand what it covers. Then shop any insurance company for an affordable policy. Include this information in your explanation. Please be aware that some sites ask for a social security number - - do not provide this information; Try to avoid these sites.
- Cable TV/Internet - compare offers from various companies, you may you introductory rates. Be sure to have documentation and in your explanation use your comparisons as evidence for your decision.
- Fill on the following sections of your budget sheet both the yearly and monthly column:
Wheeler High School Economics Budget Project
- housing
- renters insurance
- food
- electricity
- water
- natural gas
- cable TV
- internet
Wheeler High School Economics Budget Project
Phase Four: Transportation
- You must “purchase” a vehicle, identifying the make and model. The car must not be more than twelve years old. If the car is five years or older, be sure to include appropriate extra maintenance costs
- Use carmax.com, autotrader.com or other preferred websites to locate of car of your choice. Be sure to print off the listing for documentation
- To determine whether the car is being sold for a fair price (not too expensive and not too cheap) compare the price with what KELLY BLUE BOOK lists it for. Use this in your explanation for choosing your specific car.
- You are allotted $2,500 in total trade-in value and/or cash down payment towards this vehicle’s purchase.
- Auto payment - Loan terms (length of time, rate of interest, monthly payment) must also be provided. Visit bankrate.com to find the current interest rates on new and used vehicles to calculate your monthly payments.
- Then, shop for a loan. In your documentation include which bank from where you got the loan, the loan calculations and amortization table (a table that breaks down the amount toward the principle and interest every month – it also adds up how much you will spend total on interest, this should help to determine the length of time you choose for your loan) as documentation.
- Required routine maintenance costs (oil changes, tire rotation, fluid top off, etc.).
- Gasoline - You must also calculate the cost of gas per month. Determine how much driving you will do in a month. You will not just drive back and forth from work all week. Also, including shopping trips, social ventures, and trips to visit the family, of course! Once you’ve determined how many miles you will travel, determine how many miles to a gallon your car can get and then the average cost of a gallon of gas is to calculate how much gas will be in your budget.
- Buy auto insurance. In the state of Georgia it is illegal to drive without auto insurance.
- Visit: http://www.oci.ga.gov/consumerservice/autoinsurance.aspx and answer the following questions;
- What coverage is absolutely required, include amounts?
- What is liability insurance?
- What is physical damage insurance?
- What does comprehensive insurance cover?
- What does collision insurance cover?
- Who requires physical coverage insurance?
- What is uninsured motorist coverage and why is it needed?
- If you have any issues with insurers, agents or policy holders, what can be done?
- Now that you have learned the different components of auto insurance, search for a quote that includes the coverage required. If you wish to call a company and explain to them that you are doing this for a project, they can e-mail you a plan. If you wish to use an internet site, please be aware that some ask for a social security number - - do not provide this information; Try to avoid these sites. You can use the address of your chosen residence for the project, or use Wheeler’s address.
- Pay attention to what your quote it for . . . either a 6 month plan or a 12 month plan.
- In your documentation, provide the entire quote so that what your coverage is can be seen, and use the information in your explanation!
- Fill on the following sections of your budget sheet both the yearly and monthly column:
- Auto Payment
- Auto Insurance
- Auto maintenance
- Gasoline
Phase Five: Variable Costs
Budget your disposable income by providing adequate spending for the following:
- Cell Phone: - shop different providers and plans. Consider the following: talking, text, and data. Use information from you research in your explanation
- Household Items – Price the items that you would need in your house on a weekly basis, such as cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, etc. (THIS DOES NOT MEAN FUNITURE, COMPUTERS, OR OTHER “BIG” HOUSEHOLD ITEMS). You can use Wal-mart, CVS, or any other convenience store for pricing. They allow you to create a “shopping cart” on-line that you can simply print out.
- Personal Care Items - List and price your toiletries and other personal care items, such as tooth paste and deodorant. Include grooming such as haircuts, make-up, pedicures/maincures. Etc
- Clothing - provide at least six different outfits TOTAL, 3 for spring season, 3 for fall season.
- Entertainment – Keep in mind you are a year out of college. Choose entertainment that is age appropriate and school appropriate. NO, you do not just sit at home and watch Netflix’s . . . lets be real . . .
Phase Six: Real life stuff
Budget your disposable income by providing adequate spending for the following:
- Medical Insurance – Complete the worksheet on medical insurance that will be provided later in the semester. This will enable you to understand the terminology of medical insurance. Then, shop around for affordable healthcare that meets your needs in terms of coverage and out-of-pocket spending. Keep in mind that many companies today no longer provide healthcare to their employees. Pay attention to deductibles, as they are the amount you must pay before insurance covers the costs.
- Savings - short term savings is VERY LIQUID. This money can be used to cover co-pays at doctor’s visits, unexpected fluctuations in one of your other budget areas, vacations, upgrades to various durable goods, etc.
- Investment – create a long term investment (NOT LIQUID) plan using the information provided to you in the attached handout regarding personal finance as well as notes throughout the semester. This is your retirement fund. All Americans receive social security. However, today, it no longer sustains the standard of living many have been accustomed to throughout their lives. Therefore, the government has provided incentives to employers and employees to invest their own money for retirement. This exists in the form of 401K’s. Money can then be invested in stocks through mutual funds, etc.
Phase Seven: Miscellaneous and debt obligations
- Debt Obligations – several of you have various types of debt obligations including child support, gym memberships, etc. Place these costs in the miscellaneous section of you budget.
- For those of you with credit card debt, you need to decide, based on research, how you will pay down the credit card balance. In order to do that, you’ll need to choose how much you have to pay every month, how much you are willing to spend on the interest accrued, and how long you want to take to pay it down. Remember, the longer time you take, the more interest you accrue, but the lower your monthly payment; the shorter time you take, the less interest you accrue, but the larger your monthly payment. You a credit card calculator/amortization table to provide you with the data to make your decision, and include this in your explanation.
- Anything you want – you can include any other type of budget item you’d like in this space! People in the past have chosen to get a pet!
Expectations
- Balanced Budget: Complete the budget spreadsheet. This should be the second page, behind your job description, in your binder. Your total expenses must match your disposable income. Total expenses = disposable income
- Explanations: You MUST HAVE an explanation of your budgeting choices in writing for each underlined budget item listed throughout the project. This should be more than just a restatement of information found in your documents. It should identify WHY you made decisions – why this plan, this company, this term, etc. And any factors that affected the manner in which you budgeted your income. You must be specific with regard to the place of your residence (location), the type of car you have, and other budgeted items you include. Be sure to explain your reasoning behind each budget item and USE your research to do just that.
- Documents: Support your budget with documents, fliers, advertisements, written estimates, blacked out bills, and other documentation from your information sources.
All projects must be presented in a binder. Typed projects are strongly recommended, but not absolutely mandatory. ALL original work must be included (primarily menu and shopping information). Presentation is a huge part of the grade.
The project due date and deadline listed below. The project is due on the listed due but, but will be accepted without penalty until the DEADLINE. If you are going to be absent from school send your project in with a friend/family member. Late projects will receive late penalties of 25% per day late. Excused absences/tardies are irrelevant for the purposes of the project deadline, since the due date was listed several days prior.
Phase 1 due on October 16, 2017
Phase 4 due on November 1, 2017
Final Project