College 101 – Financial Planning

Name: _______________________________

1. Do you have a steady source of income from a job? Yes No

If yes, and if you are okay with sharing this information, how much money do you make each month after taxes? ___________________________________

Now, you are heading off to college with or without some savings. Let’s say that tuition, books, and other college expenses are covered by scholarships and grants you are rewarded. What else do you need to worry about? That covers it, right? Let’s look…

2. You have to find an apartment. You will be renting on your own. Scour the ads for apartments in the city/town/village where you’ll reside.

[In this space, copy and paste the advertisement for the apartment you found.]

Monthly rent: ___________________ + monthly utilities __________________

3. Purchase a car. Look through car ads online and find a car you can afford.

[In this space, copy and paste the advertisement for the car you found.]

You will have to finance this purchase and should expect to take out a 5-year (60 month) loan. Typically, you can expect to give 20% down on the purchase if you don’t have established credit. Use the following link to help you figure out how much you will have to pay per month: http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/auto/?prods=73

Use the calculator tab to do the final calculations.

Monthly Car Payment: ______________________________

4. Purchase car insurance for your automobile. Calculate how much your monthly payments will be.

Monthly Car Insurance Payment: ______________________________

5. You need to get a phone plan and find a cable and Internet plan.

[In this space, copy and paste proof of the plans you bought for your phone, Internet and cable.]

Monthly Phone Payment: ______________________

Monthly Cable Payment: _______________________

Monthly Internet Payment: _________________________

6. Calculate your gas for the month. Calculate how much you will need to spend for gas each month and show your calculations below in the space provided. Consider the commute to and from work/home/school and any shopping trips you will have to make during the month.

Monthly Gas Bill: _________________________________

If you plan to commute to work because you live in a large city, calculate the expense of subway fees, bus fare, taxi, etc.

List Alternate Form of Transportation: ___________________________________

Monthly Cost: ______________________

7. Create an actual shopping list of groceries you will consume in one week. You will have to find real prices for everything and fill in the form below as proof of your expenses.

Name of Grocery Store: _________________________________

Food Item Quantity Price Total Cost

Weekly Grocery Bill ________________________X 4 = Monthly Grocery Bill __________________________

8. List at least 4 kinds of activities that you might engage in during the month that will cost money. Provide the cost for each activity.

Activity: _________________________________________ Cost: ________________

Activity: _________________________________________ Cost: ________________

Activity: _________________________________________ Cost: ________________

Activity: _________________________________________ Cost: ________________

9. Now that you have finished all of the calculations, create an accounting ledger to show monthly income and expenses.

Date Description Deposit Withdrawal

Balance

How much is left after all expenses? _____________________________

Flash! Four – five years go by in the blink of an eye. You did it! You graduated! Time to find a job!

10. Find your future job and by researching careers online. Go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/future-jobs-o-matic to find information

about the career you want. Write a 1 - 2 page report about your career choice and include the following information:

Identify the field and profession you have chosen Growth outlook for this occupation (e.g. excellent, fair, etc.) Earning potential Years of education and/or training required (be exact & detailed) Remember to cite your source(s)

Job Title: _______________________________________

11. Find an actual job in your chosen field by looking through online want ads in places where you might want to live.[In this space, copy and paste the advertisement for the job you found.]

Name of City and State Where You Will Live: _____________________________

12. Record your gross and net income in the spaces provided before. Go to http://www1.salary.com/Entry-Level-Salaries.html to find the starting salary for the

career you have chosen. Below, provide proof of average starting salary in your field. (Copy and paste the link, etc. where you got your information.)

Link to proof of starting salary: _________________________

Gross Income: _____________________________

Rollin’ in the money, right? Now, you get to start paying back STUDENT LOANS!

13. Calculate how much student debt you will have to pay per month. To do this you will first need to know how much debt the average student attending your university

accumulates. Go to the link listed below to search for this information. https://ticas.org/posd/home

Now go to the following link to calculate what the amortization schedule is for paying back your student debt in 10 years: http://www.amortizationtable.org/

Monthly Student Loan Payment: ____________________________________

14. Calculate how much student debt you will have using debt figures provided, and adjust for the actual year you will be graduating from college. Use the formula below to do this.

A = P(1 + i)n

Where: A = accumulated amountP = principal amounti = interest written as decimaln = number of years

Example: If today’s college debt per student at your university is $30,000, and that figure is expected to increase by 6% per year, and you won’t be graduating until 5 years later, then you have to use those numbers in your calculations.

A = $30,000 (1 + .06)5

A = $40,200

Your Projected Student Loan Debt Starting In ___________: __________________________________

15. A better paying job means a better quality of life.

You upgrade to a nicer apartment, add $100.00. Total = ___________________________

You have a fender bender in college, add $75.00 to your car insurance. Total = ____________________

You upgrade internet/cable services, add $25. Total = ___________________________

Your commute to work is longer, add $25.00. Total = ___________________________

You start eating more fast food on top of your regular grocery bill, add $50.00. Total = ____________

You have a new interest/activity, add $25.00. Total = ___________________________

You now pay monthly student loans. Total = ___________________________

Total monthly expenditures = ___________________________

Keep in mind, you still haven’t calculated taxes, medical insurance, union dues, and other expenses that begin piling up as you get older. This is just the basics.

[Gross income] ÷ 12 months = _$______ - [total monthly expenditures] = ___________ money left over

Is there anything not stressful about growing up and being financially independent? Let’s see.

16. Where can you vacation to with the money you save in a year’s time?

Airfare/gas to and from destination = _$__________________

Cost of one night’s stay at hotel = __$______________ x how many nights = __$_________________

Leftover spending money = _$___________________

[In this space, copy and paste a picture of your vacation destination.]