INTRODUCTION
Imagine yourself seven years from now. You are approximately 22 years old, and are looking to start a career after you have taken the previous four years for post-secondary education, travel, and some work. You are moving out of your parents house and going out on your own. You have decided to rent accommodation, you have an entry-level job and are now completely on your own!! You must now figure out how you are going to budget your money based on your take home pay.
THE TASK
Now that you are ready to jump into the working world, your task is to create a personal budget from scratch. You can bring your bed and personal items with you. Unless mentioned otherwise everything else has to be purchased. Do not assume that you have anything! The areas that you must include in your budget are as follows:
INCOME
Your gross pay for your first year of work is $30,000. However, taxes and deductions from your pay cheque work out to 20% of your gross pay. Therefore, you will be taking home $24,000. This works out to $2000 a month. This is your only income.
FIXED EXPENSES
Rent (payment per month)
Tenant's Insurance (payment per month)
Automobile or Bus Pass (monthly payment)
Auto Insurance (monthly payment if applicable)
Health insurance (monthly payment)
Long Term Savings
Emergency
VARIABLE EXPENSES
Food (groceries, restaurants, snacks)
Phone
cell phone
electricity
gas (heat)
clothing
entertainment (movies, video rental, sporting events)
haircuts
vacations
gas/diesel (if applicable)
cable tv
damage deposit
move-in expenses
misc. out of pocket expenses
MOVE-IN EXPENSES
In addition, you must produce of list of move-in expenses, which will include furnishing for your new apartment. These move-in costs (along with your first month's rent) must be paid out of your savings as you will not receive a pay cheque until the middle of the month. Your items will include:
Bed and Mattress (assume you can bring this with you from home)
Dresser drawer for clothing
End Tables for your bed
Television
Television stand
DVD player/PVR
Playstation, Xbox, etc,
Book shelf
Computer
Computer Desk
Computer Chair
Couch
Coffee table
Side tables
Lamps
Dinner Table
Chairs for dinner table
Stereo System or speakers for Ipod
SAVINGS
Assume you have saved $1200. You have to use this savings to put down a damage deposit on your rental (1/2 of your monthly rent), and your first month's rental. The remainder of your money can be used to cover your move-in expenses. If you do not have enough money to purchase all your furniture, you may have to delay some of your purchases until you can afford them.
THE PROCESS
All your amounts must be based on evidence you collect. You must document all findings on the included planning sheet. On the worksheet your must include the amount, the source (link, image, screenshot, newspaper date and page number). Some areas such as allowance for vacation and savings are items that you may ask a parent or teacher for an amount, just be sure to document your resource. After information is gathered, using the information on your planning sheet, complete a schedule of move-in expenses on one spreadsheet and a budget for six months on another spreadsheet. The design and creativity of your spreadsheets is up to you. You may choose any style as long as the spreadsheet makes sense. Simple formulas must be created in your spreadsheet to find total fixed expenses and total variable expenses, total of all expenses, and total savings. A template is included for your use if you choose to use it.
To accomplish this task, you first need to decide on where you want to live, what type of car you need etc. You then will need to begin your investigation of how much things will cost. You may find that certain things you would like are just too expensive and therefore, you must keep looking until you find something that suits your needs. Here is a list of resources available to you help you with your investigation (you are not limited to just these).
ICBC (car insurance)
Terason (natural gas)
BC Hydro (electricity)
Telus (cell phone and home phone)
Shaw (Internet, Home Phone, Cable)
Rogers (cell phone)
Bell (cell phone, Satellite tv)
Craig's List (apartments, rentals)
Questions to ask yourself as you gather financial information for your planning sheet
Standard of Living
You are required to find an apartment. You must include proof of existence and price (ex: a rent from a newspaper or online) How much per month? What is the security deposit?
Do you want cable? Please include which package you are getting and how much it will cost you each month. (You can find the information online by searching on the cable company’s website.)
Do you want cable Internet or DSL? Please include the monthly fee.
Do you want a telephone in your apartment? Please include the price of a basic local calling plan.
Do you have a cell phone? How much do you pay each month?
In order to survive you must eat. Please include a minimum of $300 a month for food.
Entertainment Costs
To be happy people we need to be entertained once in awhile. The problem is that entertainment costs money. Since everyone entertains himself or herself differently, I am allowing complete freedom in this area. Be aware though that almost any recreational activity costs money. Below are some examples to help you.
Going to the movies. Please list how many times you go to the theatre in a month and calculate the price. Rent a lot of movies? Include how many rentals within a month and calculate the total.
Going to concerts. Please list how many times you go to concerts in a month and calculate the price.
Going out for coffee? Do you go to Starbucks, the price of lattes and frapacinnos adds up quickly.
This is my project here:
I cant set it up exactly as it is on the spreadsheet, but here it is.
There are six months:
March, April, May, June, July, and August, and then after that there is TOTAL.
Underneath that there is income, underneath income there is Wages/Salary:
Income
Wages/Salary $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $12,000.00
All the 2000 count for those six months, and then 12,000 is the total.
These are my expenses:
Expenses
Rent = $650 for those 6 months and then the total is $3,900.00.
Tenant’s Insurance = $15.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $90.00.
Bus Pass = $20.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $120.00.
Health Insurance = $150.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $900.00
Groceries = $200.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $1,200.00.
Clothing = $50.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $300.00.
Entertainment = $20.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $120.00.
Damage Deposit = $325.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $1,950.00.
Phone = $30.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $180.00
Internet = $20.00 for those 6 months and then the total is $140.00
My addition to savings is????? I don't know how to calculate this..
And my Balance?? How do I do that??
Also, the total cant be the same for all those months, don't my utilities cute off or something in the middle of the month, Im so confused..
Please, really need help with this project:(
What is the damage deposit?
That would be half of the rent which is &325. It is the sum of money paid in relation to a rented item to ensure it is returned in good condition.
Why is that paid every month? Usually the security (damage) deposit is paid when you first rent an apt and not monthly.
You should also be able to project what the utilities would be -- an average, in a way -- and include that monthly. Most apts include water in the rent, so all you have to figure is electricity and gas.
Oh sorry, its payed once a year...at the starting. So how would I do that? Would damage deposit still go under Expenses and only under one month?
Yes -- only once, probably under the first of the six months.
Rent includes the utilites, which is $650. So would it be $650 for every month?
It says this:
Assume you have saved $1200. You have to use this savings to put down a damage deposit on your rental (1/2 of your monthly rent), and your first month's rental. The remainder of your money can be used to cover your move-in expenses. If you do not have enough money to purchase all your furniture, you may have to delay some of your purchases until you can afford them.
I don't really understand what to do..