Introduction
Americans love to shop and often end up in debt with financial struggles. This is often because they do not have a budget. If you do not have a budget and you just spend what you want without thinking you may run into many financial problems. The key is to live within your means. To do this:
Know your income - How much money you have to spend
Know your expenses - How much is available to spend and what is already spent because it is the same every month
Track your expenses - Mark down the cost of things so you don't overspend
Separate wants and needs - Needs are required, wants are desires that would be nice to have
Follow a budget - A budget is a plan to organize expenses and plan for how to spend your money
Save money for larger expenses or emergencies - Examples include a car, a house, health
Cut down on expenses (coupons) - Look for coupons to save money, look for sales flyers and online deals
Task
You are a high school student with a part time job.
Your annual salary is $4000. This leaves you with $350 to spend each month.
Out of $350 per month you need to save $140 a month to buy a decent used car in 3 years. This will equal $5040 in 3 years.
This leaves you a total of $210 for expenses per month.
Included in your budget of expenses are:
personal care items (makeup, haircuts, nails, perfume,cologne)
entertainment (games, food, movies, concerts, streaming media)
cell phone
clothing (including shoes)
extra expenses/purchases (anything you want to include - snacks, food)
Use the budget worksheet given out in class to figure out a monthly budget and then show expenses for one month. Be specific.
Process
Use the following resources to help with filling in the budget sheet.
"Best Low-Cost Cell-Phone Plans" by Consumer Reports January 2019.
Fast Food Menu Prices - click on fast food menus for the most recent prices
"Streaming Media Device Buying Guide" by Consumer Reports 2019
Amazon - if using free prime shipping must include prime membership into monthly total (hint $119 per year)
Spotify https://www.spotify.com/us/
Apple Music https://www.apple.com/apple-music/
Evaluation
Self Evaluation Questions:
Did you go over your monthly budget of $245? If you did how did you change your fiances?
What influenced your decisions when creating your monthly budget plan?
What was challenging about your monthly budget plan?
As a teenager, do you think it is practical for you to save $105 a month? Why?