Personal Finance In-Class Project

SCENARIO:

You (and your partner) are 22 years old (or whatever age you will be when you plan on getting your first full time job) and looking forward to your future as a financially independent individual.  

• You need to create a detailed personal future financial plan  and budget that will secure your independence.  No parents, no roommates,...nothing to depend on but your own head on your shoulders!

The following is a list of things you need to include in your financial plan on a Google Presentation:

1. Title Slide (with names)
2. Slide 1 - Career
3. Slide 2 - Location
4. Slide 3 - Housing
5. Slide 4 - Vehicle
6. Slide 5/6 - Personal Expenses
7. Slide 7 - Health Insurance
8. Slide 8/9 - Automatic Deductions
9. Slide 10 - Completed Budget Worksheet

DIRECTIONS FOR EACH REQUIREMENT:

• Career: Identify the Occupation you plan to have at age 22.

• PROVIDE:    

• Necessary Education/Training For Your Job
• Job Title/Responsibilities
• Starting Salary Based On Location

• What will be your monthly pay?

• Good website to start - bls.gov

• Location: Identify City and State in which you plan to reside.

• PROVIDE:  

• Community information (population, things to do, etc)  
• Possible place of employment (i.e., if you had your choice, where would you like to be employed?)

• Housing: Identify the type of housing you plan to live in.

• PROVIDE:

• Find an actual apartment or house within your budget (have two pictures, at least)
• What is the rent/mortgage (how much per month?)
• Monthly utility cost (how much per month?)

• Good apartment website - apartments.com
• Good house-buying website - zillow.com
• Mortgage calculator (if buying house) - bankrate.com
• Utilities calculator - csgnetwork.com

• Vehicle: Identify the type of car you intend to drive.

• PROVIDE:

• make, model and year of car (have at least two pictures)
• purchase price
• monthly payment price

• car search website - autotrader.com
• auto payment calculator - bankrate.com

• Personal Expenses: Identify all Necessity and Luxury Items you will need to purchase/pay for on a regular (monthly) basis.

• PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF MONTHLY COSTS FOR (all below are optional):

• cell phone
• internet
• cable
• entertainment (movies, music, Netflix, going out to eat, etc)
• anything else you would want to purchase (gym membership, new technology, clothes, etc)

• Health Insurance: You MUST choose from the following set of options (based on career path) and include the expense in your automatic deductions

• Plan #1 - Public employees (i.e., you work for the government, a school, etc.)

• 5% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $1,500 deductible - you must budget for this
• $15 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• Plan #2 - Private employees (i.e., you work for a private company or business)

• 9% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $3,000 deductible - you must budget for this
• $20 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• Plan #3 - Self employed individuals (*this assumes that you have no employees) OR those wishing to purchase health insurance on their own  

• 22% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $5,000 deductible - you must budget for this
• $25 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• Plan #4 - State/regional healthcare exchange plan for low/moderate income earners (based on current standards set forth by the Affordable Care Act).

• If your annual income is approximately $14,000

• 3% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $650 deductible - you must budget for this
• $20 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• If your annual income is approximately $22,000

• 6% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $1000 deductible - you must budget for this
• $20 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• If your annual income is approximately $33,000

• 8% of your salary must be deducted for health insurance
• $1350 deductible - you must budget for this
• $20 copayments for Dr. visits and prescription drugs

• Automatic Deductions: The following items must be deducted (depending on circumstances).

• Student loan payment if you attended college. (Based on average debt carried by recent graduates who achieved the following degrees)

• Associates Degree = $150/month
• Bachelors Degree = $290/month
• Masters Degree = $400/month
• Doctorate/Law Degree = $800/month

• Groceries - food only (Based on USDA, U.S. averages for 1 person. *Doesn’t include dining out)

• Thrifty plan = $155/month
•  Low cost plan = $200/month
• Moderate plan = $250/month
• Liberal plan = $310/month

• $275  per month for Gas and Misc. Car Repairs (if you own or lease a vehicle)
• 30% of your annual salary deducted for Taxes/S.S. (You must calculate)

• Budget: complete the worksheet attached and provide link to it on slide

• Budget worksheet template

HOW YOU WILL BE GRADED:

                                                                                        TOTAL: 100 POINTS