Budgeting

You have learned about the purchase and operation of a vehicle, renting and living in an apartment, and numerous financial services and taxes. Now you will focus on the next big step in adult life, budgeting your money. Part of this adult budget will include another big financial burden most people choose to take on in their adult life, raising a child.

Introduction
Do you run out of money before you run out of month? First complete this anticipation guide, it includes a short survey to help you to understand your personal financial priorities. Then read, "Please send money! A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own."

Start Budgeting Now!!
Complete your personal budget, including your current income and expenses. If you have a job include your personal income information. If you don't have a job, let's assume you make minimum wage, working 25 hours a week. Use this template for your proposed budget. Make sure to save a copy to your Google Drive and then share it with Carrie when done.

Planning for Your Future
Finally, complete a future budget, using the provided template, include the information that you researched in the prior units of study and use the average income from your aspired career choice. You will need to include all aspects of adult life in your budget, including childcare costs. You will also need to factor how you chose to pay for your education...will you have school loans that you will need to budget for?

Final Report
Reflect on what your learned about budgeting your money. What are the two most important lessons you learned from this unit? How will this better prepare you for your adult life? Compare your two budgets. How did you arrive at the budgeted amounts? What changed between the two? How much money did you need/have? Did you plan to save anything?