NGPF Activity Bank

Budgeting #1
Spanish version

ANALYZE: A Salary-Based Budget

Now that you’ve completed your first full budget (activity here), answer each of these reflection questions.

Part I: Net Salary

1. How did you choose your career?
I chose my career based on my planned career. I plan to major in mechanical engineering and become an
engineer in a city like Seattle or Philadelphia. This would help me see my future budgeting if I chose to pursue
my career.

2. Now that you’ve seen your preliminary budget, reflect on your career choice and the lifestyle you may be able
to live as a result. What might be the benefits or challenges?
In my budget, I was able to save a lot of money by limiting the times I could go out to eat, as well as the
amount I was spending weekly on eating out. It’s not uncommon to see high schoolers going out to eat, but
now that I have to pay bills there are repercussions to spending that money. Also, I was able to have my own
car in that budget, despite thinking I might not be able to pay for it. In the end, I was able to have $455
hypothetically leftover in my bank account. I would like to have a large amount of money to fall back on in
case an outbreak like Corona happens again or I lose my job.

Part II: Savings Strategy

3. How much did you decide to save (in savings and in retirement), and why did you make these choices?
I decided to save 15% of my income for my savings account. I would like to have money in case any
emergency situation were to come up at all. My retirement savings are at 10%. I expect to grow in my career
and eventually earn a higher salary, so this percentage will eventually increase. Each month, I would save
$766 in savings and $511 on my retirement.

4. After seeing how your final budget turned out, do you think you should be saving more or less than you
originally chose?
I think I should be saving more than I originally chose. My monthly balance is at $455 For me, that number
sounds good as money that can be used in case anything at all happens to me or my job. However, I could be
spending more on my retirement benefits

Part III: Spending Habits

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5. When you look at your overall spending, which category are you spending the least on? Does this surprise you?
Why or why not?
I’m spending the least on haircuts. This surprised me because getting a $25-$30 at the time seems like a large
purchase. However, this only happens once every three months, so in the grand scheme of a year, it isn’t
expensive at all. If I could find a place to cut my hair for cheaper, that would help me save a couple of dollars
in the long run.

6. Which category are you spending the most on? Does this surprise you? Why or why not?
I’m spending a lot of money monthly on groceries. Although I know that groceries are expensive when
factored all together, it still surprised me that I was spending $242 a month on groceries. It makes sense, but
also I didn’t expect it to be this prominent in my budget.

7. What is one category you know you could spend less on? What sacrifices would you have to make if you were to
spend less on this category?
I could save $58 by cutting out a gym membership. This would beneficial to my budget, but also I would have
to give up going to a gym. I like having a space to work out, so this might be a hard trade-off. Along with this, I
could be spending $25 less on my wants. However, I would like to have money to spend as it is fun to spend
the money you earn on yourself.

8. What is one category you wish you could spend more on? What would need to happen for that to be possible?
I wish I could spend more on dining out per week. I love eating food outside the house. However, in order to
do that, I would have to sacrifice a bit more money from my monthly balance. I would like to live the perfect
lifestyle that I imagine, but obviously I would have to sacrifice to make that happen. Maybe in a future
budget, or in a budget where I have more money, I could fit eating out more.

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