Big Budget Project

Choose an occupation based on what you want to go to college Neuro surgeon

for, or what career you want after Lakewood HS
Those who have a dream of
Years of education (including the degree) and/or training, becoming a neuro surgeon must
certification, or apprenticeship required for this career after complete 4 years of
high school. Keep the links that you use!
undergraduate
Bipolar forcepsand another 4 for
What technology or technology skills are required for this medical
career? This includes programs, devices, machines, tools,
Clamps school then neuro
computer/tech skills, and etc. Provide links to sources you
specifically
Curettes andtakes 6-7 years
spatulas
found this info at. inclouding
Dissectors and residency.
rongeurs
What is the job outlook for this career? Is it growing or Drill bits,
This job wire,
outlook pin inswe need
is growing,
shrinking? By what percent? How does that compare with Elevators
more doctorsand impactors
this career feild will always
average job growth in the US? Post a link to the source you used be growing.
for this question. You can use this link, and tell me WHY it is reliable!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

YEARLY salary for a beginner at this career (an “entry level” salary). $350,000
This is called “Gross yearly income”
-Find a starting salary in the Los Angeles area, or California.

The amount you will pay in FEDERAL income tax. 33_ % , or $____
Note: this is a percent of your yearly salary, and how much you earn affects how
much you pay in taxes.
-Use this to figure it out! https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes

The amount you will pay in STATE income tax.

11.30% , or $____
Note: this is a percent of your yearly salary, and how much you earn affects how
much you pay in taxes.

The amount you will pay in FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). 2.35 % , or $____
Note: this is a percent of your yearly salary, and how many people live in your
household affects what percentage you pay)

YEARLY NET disposable income, or “income after taxes are taken out.” $139,150
(your salary minus taxes)

Net MONTHLY income $11,595

Your NET yearly disposable income (from box above) divided by 12 (months
in a year)
(This is your budget for the month! Your expenses must stay UNDER this amount, or you will lose points!)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

The 50/30/20 rule: Below, write down how much you should spend, in dollar amounts, on NEEDS, WANTS, and
SAVINGS each month. Hint: multiply your Net MONTHLY income x a decimal for each %

NEEDS: WANTS: SAVINGS:

RETIREMENT and INVESTMENT

I have some maybe bad news…don’t plan on Social Security being your only retirement income, because people are retiring
much faster than the birth rate in this country. Also, some jobs are no longer offering retirement plans (pension) like they
used to. We already know that the GOAL is to save or invest 20% of your income. However, once you get a big-time job after
HS or college, you might not be able to afford to save 20% at first, and that’s ok. So, for the section labeled Retirement and
Investments, you can budget based on 10% savings/retirement if you like. You will track the price of a stock of your choice
for several days. In addition, you are required to give more information about the stock you chose, and compare the
strengths and weaknesses of the different investment options.

10% of Net MONTHLY income for retirement  $11,595 (you

can do 20% if you want!)

Go to Yahoo Finance, and search for a company that you might want to invest your own money into. You are
required to pick one company’s stock, and track it for the duration of this project. Use Yahoo Finance to keep
track of the stock’s value. Use this site for help reading the stock chart for the company you chose!
Name
and symbol of stock you chose  Nike
Example: Facebook, Inc. (FB)

Stock 52 week 52 week Purchase price Price on the Next Final Price Check (day
Symbol high low Date: (insert the date Block Period before this assignment is due)
(Abbreviation) you first looked at this
stock here)
Nke $70.25 $50.35 $ $ $

$
Total gain or loss per share 

(overall
change in
value of
the stock
from when
you first
looked it
up until
the last
time you
checked)
Sample of
Yahoo
Finance
stock page

INVESTMENTS
Stars are
next to
important
info You will need to give a short description of, and list AT LEAST one strength and one
weakness for, each of the four investment options:
Description Strength Weakness
go to your bank company does saving you money if any circumstance where
Basic and ask to create a savings you need that money you can
Savings account. not touch it until the time you
Account chose is over.

Certificate
of Deposit

US
Treasury
Bond
(aka a
“bond”)

pay for a piece of the stock
and whatever money they
Stocks make gets split up and a
(in a little amount goes to you
company)
easy way to make money if nike were to go out of style
and the stock loses money so
do you.
 401k
(through
your work)

NOTE: You MUST do the research for stocks/bonds/certificates of deposit, even if you choose to NOT include stocks,
bonds, or certificates in your monthly budget. Choose one of the following options and respond below:
A) In a few sentences, pick one or two of the options from the chart above that you could see yourself investing 10% of
your income in. Briefly explain WHY you would pick that option (or two) to invest in. (No, you cannot just copy and
paste your bullet points to here).
B) If you choose to ONLY have a savings account (and not stocks/bonds/certificates) in your monthly budget, write a
few sentences explaining why you are using a savings account to plan for your retirement and your future (keeping
in mind the future possibility of having children, sending them to college, maybe buying a house, etc.). You must
explain your decision to put your 10% into a savings account instead of investing for the future. Write that
reasoning below, here:
C) I am going to only be using a savings account for my retirement plan because to me it's the safest and easiest plan
there is. i don't really trust the other processes, because i feel like these have a more negative view to them.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

HOUSING
You must find your own place to live, and you will be living alone for this project. Yes, you can have roommates in real life,
but sometimes that gets really annoying. Your apartment or housing must be located in the Los Angeles county area and it
must be in an area that you would actually consider living. You can choose to rent an apartment, house, condo or trailer,
but you must have the actual advertisement/listing to prove your new residence exists…save the link!

Remember the General Rule: Rent/housing should be NO HIGHER than 30% of your monthly income!

Location: ___paramount_________________

Type of housing: __________apartment _________________

Link to the listing/advertisement for your housing: https://www.apartments.com/four-seasons-

paramount-ca/0gt3320/

Total MONTHLY housing cost  $1,650

Security deposit, if listed (do NOT add this to your monthly expense, it’s a 1-time charge).  $500
_________________________________________________________________________________________

UTILITIES
Without utilities, your place of residence will be a dark, damp, Xbox-free zone. I want you to continue living the life you have
now, or a better one (because you will have earned it)! So if you currently have a cell phone, WiFi/Internet, and
cable/satellite TV, you must include it in your budget. You will need to find out what utilities are required in your new place,
and then you will need to investigate the monthly costs of these utilities. Keep in mind that some apartments/condos
include certain utilities, while others do not. You need proof that certain utilities are included. If you don’t, I will add the
additional amount listed to your monthly budget…yikes!

Sometimes, your electricity, gas, and water are INCLUDED in an apartment. If that is what your apartment listing says, then
research the average cost of those utilities in Los Angeles. If your apartment says that there is Internet ACCESS, that just
means you just have the wires…you still need to pay for Internet service!

Electricity per month (+$40) $183

-Attach
a link to the estimate you found here:
https://www.move.org/utility-bills-101/

Natural gas per month (+$20) $82

-Attach
a link to the estimate you found here:

Water + Garbage + Sewage per $60 month

(+$10)

-Attach a link to the estimate you found here:

Cable/satellite or streaming TV $147 per

month
-Attach a link to the ad/plan here:

Cell phone per month $80

-Attach a link to the ad/plan here:
https://www.att.com/cellphones/iphone/apple-iphone-8-plus.html#sku=sku8510273

Internet and/or WiFI $

-Attach a link to the ad/plan here:

Total MONTHLY utilities cost. 

$552
 AUTOMOBILE
You live in/near Los Angeles so public transportation is not as easy as in other cities. You must purchase a car or truck that is
no older than the year 2008. The vehicle you purchase must have fewer than 100,000 miles and you will be financing the
entire price of the vehicle (meaning you are getting a loan!). The purchase price of the vehicle must be AT LEAST $9,000.
Again, you must attach an advertisement that proves the vehicle exists.
“Mr. Flanagan, why does my car have to cost $9,000?” Be materialistic for this! New-ish cars are nice!

Make of vehicle: (ex: Honda) Toyota Model: (ex: Civic) Camery

Year of 2016 vehicle: 25 city/ 35 Miles:

highway
Link to the sales listing/advertisement for the vehicle you described above:

Length of vehicle financing: 60 months (5 years) Interest rate: 5%

Price of vehicle $35,000

To compute the monthly payments, use this link and input a reasonable credit score (NOT “Super Prime”)
and down payment. Remember, the interest rate is 5%!

Total MONTHLY vehicle payment  $300

GAS for CAR

Gasoline costs will depend on the total number of miles you drive per week. We will assume that you work 15
miles away from where you live. You may take METRO to limit gasoline costs, but you must include accurate
public transportation costs if you choose this.
On top of total miles driven to work, we will assume that you drive an additional 50 miles per week to “get
around” (weekend driving, entertainment, visit family, grocery shopping, etc.) We also assume that you work a
standard 5-day week.

Work Miles Per Week: Miles from home to work = 15 X 2 (round trip) = 30 miles per day

Work miles per week + 50 “getting around” miles per week: 200 miles X 4.3 (weeks) 860 = miles per month

City miles per gallon of gas for your automobile: _____25___ “MPG”

Average current price of gas: $3.45 per gallon

$34.5
Total monthly cost of gasoline:
(Price of gas per gallon) X (# of gallons you need to buy for your “Miles per month”)

OR Total monthly METRO costs (if you chose this): $

Total MONTHLY transportation costs: $334.50 →

(Monthly vehicle payment + monthly
cost of gasoline)
INSURANCE
For all insurance quotes we are going to assume that you are 22 years old. You will be required to get the following
insurance---auto, renters, and life. Attach a link to PROOF for each insurance quote!

Auto/Renters- Most car insurance policies are quoted for a six-month period, so do
your math correctly! Use FALSE INFORMATION (name, address, etc.) to get a
Progressive quote without giving any personal information:
http://www.progressive.com/ To be 22, your year of birth is 1995. Answer the
questions with your current status.
For car insurance: you want limits of liability of $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury,
$500.00 deductible on comprehensive and collision and a $25,000 limit on Uninsured Motorists.

Combine your Renters Insurance with your Auto Insurance to save money! However, list the “premiums” (or
price) for each separately. For renter’s insurance, you want contents coverage of $25,000 with the remainder of
the coverages as they list them (Liability, Medical, Mold). Do not do flood insurance.

$250
Total Car insurance per month

$
Total Renters insurance per month

$
Total Life Insurance per month ($50,000, 5 year term life insurance policy)
Life insurance is optional. I recognize that many people do not have it, or wait until they have a family or significant other.
-If you choose to get it, you can start with State Farm’s website: https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/life
Total MONTHLY insurance costs: $

FOOD
I realize that right now many of you survive on Chick-fil-A and Buffalo Spot. However, for our purposes, you will need to eat
at least three real meals each day and MOST of these meals must be prepared by you. (There will be no going home to eat
with mom and dad…because they are tired of feeding you all the time!)
First, you are to prepare a one-week menu on the WEEKLY MENU sheet provided. Next you will need to make a detailed
grocery list on the GROCERY sheet provided. Your grocery sheet must include all of the items you will need to prepare your
meals for the entire week. Be sure to include price, brand names, amount/sizes, etc. of the items you are going to purchase.

Be sure to include any and all snack items that you normally consume. Do NOT include the following items: salt, pepper,
spices, cooking tools/pots/pans. Be sure to eat a varied and nutritionally balanced diet, and don’t forget to include drinks,
vegetables, and fruits! Check out Harvard’s recommended plate for help! Even though it is possible, eating Ramen Noodles
or the same thing day after day after day after day is boring and won’t work for this project. Balance your diet! Do NOT count
going out to dinner in this section…save that for the next one!

$
Weekly food costs: $ x 4.3 = MONTHLY food costs
If you only buy some things once, like mustard or ketchup, you can leave that out of this “ x 4.3” part and just count it once!

Weekly Menu

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER

omelettes salads burgers

MONDAY
 pancakes, bacon, eggs sandwiches tacos

TUESDAY

cereal salads macaroni

WEDNESDAY

cereal sushi steak, potatos

THURSDAY

waffles korean bbq korean bbq

FRIDAY

bacon, eggs, cheese, chili salads pizza

beans, burrito
SATURDAY

oreo pancakes pizza salads

SUNDAY

GROCERY SHEET
Post links here to sites where you got your information about grocery costs:

Remember to be detailed!! Attach additional sheets as necessary.

Item _ Cost
 ENTERTAINMENT
Make a detailed list of your weekly activities and the cost for each. Be specific! Remember that this project is for a month
and each month has at least four weekends. I expect to see a recording of the costs of your social life, which will include
more than just the video game playing or Snapchat-watching which currently eats up all your time. Please be sure to
include all costs associated with dating that dreamy boyfriend/girlfriend you will surely be seeing in the future.

*Eating out at restaurants should be listed in this section!

Week 1 subtotal $_________________

Week 2 subtotal $_________________

Multiply your two-week total times 2.25 to get an estimate for a full month.
Total MONTHLY entertainment costs: $

CLOTHING
Estimate as best you can what you will need to purchase over the course of a year and then figure what that would be
monthly (yearly cost divided by 12).

Remember that you are now paid as a professional, and professional jobs generally have a dress code. Some careers
require a certain dress code or uniform (dress pants, jacket, ties, skirts/blouses, etc.) which you will have to purchase. You
must also purchase all the “unmentionables” and casual clothes, including shoes. If you need more room, use the back of
this page.

Item Price
Total monthly clothing $ costs:
RANDOM EXPENSES
Below, you need to include all of those “necessity” items you have not yet listed. I am talking about things like toothpaste,
shampoo, soap, cleaning supplies, haircuts, newspapers, magazines, laundry, detergent, tithing, make-up, etc. Don’t forget
those quarters for the washer and dryer ($1.50 per load!!) Spending 4 hours in a Laundromat each week is a special kind of
joy.
Do your best to “guess” at how much you would spend on each of these per month. Example…you probably won’t buy
toothpaste every month, but you have to buy it at some point!

Personal Hygiene

Cleaning Supplies
Laundry Costs

Other

Total miscellaneous expense costs: $

STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT

Time to pay up for the best “four years of your life” (as some people like to call it). If your career does not require schooling
after high school, you can skip this. If your career requires a college degree OR training/certification program OR
apprenticeship, you must post a link showing me the tuition or cost of that program.

You will now be paying for 8 semesters of school (or 1-2 years of training, for some of you) yourself, because even if you
aren’t paying for it now, you might need to pay for college for someone else if you plan on having children.

Total time in school: _______ years (depends on your occupation…ex: doctor is much longer than electrician, but
both require training or degrees)

College, University, or training program attended (and degrees earned if applicable): ________

Cost per semester of that college/university (tuition, room & board, books and fees): $____________ x 8
semesters
 If your program is less than 4 years, then adjust your costs to times (x) however many semesters you need

Include a print out of expenses per semester for each college or university off their website (look at their
Admissions/Tuition page…it exists!).

Length of financing = ___10 years_____

Interest rate = ____7%__________

To compute monthly payments for student loan debt, use this link and select “subsidized loan” (that means the
government pays the interest on your loan FOR YOU while you are in school!)

Total monthly student loan payment: $

TOTAL OF ALL MONTHLY EXPENSES:

Basically, go back up and take each of these numbers from the GREEN highlighted boxes! Put
each of your numbers next to the appropriate topic and add them together. You MUST be under
your net monthly income!

Total monthly investment $

Total housing per month $

Total utilities per month $

Total monthly transportation costs $

Total insurance per month $

Total monthly food costs $

Total entertainment costs $

Total miscellaneous expense costs $

Total monthly clothing costs $

Total monthly student loan payment $

Total MONTHLY expenses: $_______________

Net MONTHLY $ income:

How much money do you have left over at the end of the month? $

Each of you must do your own budget. You cannot simply say that you are sharing all expenses with somebody in
the class. You will be graded on accuracy and thoroughness of your budget. You are also required to turn in the
actual classified ad used to locate your housing, automobile, television, internet, and cell phone plan. Finally, you
CANNOT go over your budget.

Good luck!