Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone

Introduction

Once you start working and living on your own, whether you have finished college or not, you will need to learn to manage your money
and maintain a monthly budget. Depending on where you are employed, your cost of living may influence your standard of living. Even
though you will receive a paycheck each month you will have to pay a variety of bills. Some things are optional like cable and
entertainment, but most bills are not optional such as electricity, food, and rent. Ideally, you must also plan to save 5% of your monthly
salary.

Procedure

Read and complete the directions below and complete each line of your spreadsheet as indicated.

Step 1: Where

 If you plan to stay in Georgia that is fine but if you always hoped to move to Hawaii or you go to college to be a floor broker at
the New York Stock Exchange you will have to move. Therefore, you must commit to this location before you proceed.

o In which state do you envision yourself living in after you graduate from college? _Georgia_

o Enter this information in Cell 5B on your spreadsheet

Step 2: What

 Enter the name of the career you are budgeting for _dermatologist _

o ֍ Interns must do the career related to their internship from the previous assignments; Explorers must use the career
the calculated they “went to college for” from the previous assignments.

 Enter the career name in Cell 8B of the spreadsheet

Step 3: Main Earnings

 You may dream of being rich and the “average salary” for your chosen profession may make your mouth water, but you will
not start making that kind of money right out of college. Return to www.careeronestop.org and search for your career salary
information for the STATE you selected in Step 1. Then look for the “low average” for the state specifically. If that is not
available, look for the low average for the United States. If you are unable to find this information at www.careeronestop.org
then search for information on the salary from the state itself.

o What is your average salary? _$108,400_

o Remember, this is your gross income which is the amount of money you earn before taxes and other payroll
deductions. Net income is your take home pay after taxes and other payroll deductions. Your net monthly income, the
amount on your paycheck, is what’s used to make your budget. Often times employers will take out other pre-tax
deductions which would affect your net income but for the sake of keeping it simple, we will not consider these
options at this time.

o To determine your net income for the state you are living in, go to https://www.adp.com/resources/articles-
and-insights/articles/p/payroll-deductions.aspx then scroll down the page to the Payroll Deduction
Calculator:

 General Information

 Set the check date to 1/1/21

 Select your State

Budget Assignment 1
Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone
 Enter your Gross Pay

 Keep it “annually”

 Set pay-frequency to Monthly

 Keep exemptions set to “No”

 Federal Information

 Keep “Use 2020 W4” set to “No”

 Keep you filing status “Single” unless you are 100% sure you will be married before you finish
college

 Keep “# of Federal Allowances” AND “Additional Federal Withholding” set to “0”

 Keep “Round Federal Withholding” set to “No”

 State Information

 Depending on the state, this information may change. ASK questions if necessary to complete it as
accurately as possible.

o Once you hit “Calculate” at the bottom of the calculator, a box will appear above the calculator that shows your Gross
Pay, Federal, FICA, Medicare, State, and other taxes, along with your NET pay.

 Take a SNIP of this box and paste it HERE:

 Enter the Net Pay amount in Cell 7C on the spreadsheet

Step 4: Secondary (optional) Earnings

 Do you think you will need to have a second job? You may not think so now, but after you calculate your budget you may
change your mind. If you plan to work part time or have some other form of income, enter it is Cells 10C, 11C, and 12C as
needed.

Step 5: Housing

 Now find a place to live. Will you buy or rent? You may choose to live by yourself or with ONE friend. If you choose to live
with a friend, you must find a minimum two bedroom house or apartment. Each person must have their own room. If you buy,
you may only charge your friend 25% of your mortgage. If you rent, you may charge 50%. You may use the following links or
find your own sources BUT be sure to add them to your Bibliography.

o https://www.apartments.com/

o https://www.rentals.com/

o https://www.zillow.com/
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Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone
 Once you find your house or apartment

o Paste the link to the page that lists the specifics, including the price https://www.apartments.com/delta-victory-lakes-
apartments-forest-park-ga/66d40sv/

o Will you have a roommate? _yes_

o Enter your share of the mortgage or rent in Cell 18C

 Housing Insurance

o Renters $15 per month

o Homeowners multiply sale price by 0.015 __ then divide by 12

o Enter your cost to Cell 20C

Step 6: Transportation

 Depending on where you live, you may not need a car. Either way, you will have transportation expenses.
o If you are going buy a car:
 Find a car. You will make payments on this car for five years (60 months). You must use the interest rate of
3%.
 Once you find your car, provide a link to the page that lists the price of the car and a picture of a car.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=564951619&zip=30101&referrer=
%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D30101%26city%3DAcworth%26listingTypes%3DNEW
%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26location%3D%255Bobject%2BObject%255D%26incremental%3Dall
%26state%3DGA%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Dinclude%26relevanceConfig%3Ddefault
%26searchRadius%3D50%26isNewSearch
%3Dfalse&listingTypes=NEW&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=50&makeCode1=CHEV&mo
delCode1=SPARK&clickType=listing
 You must calculate the car payment using the car payment calculator. _$176_
 Plug this amount into your overall budget in Cell 19C
o If you are going to use public transportation:
 Locate the transit fares for the area you plan to live (IF they do not have an extensive transit system, you
must buy a car!)
 If you can purchase a Monthly Commuter Pass that include both rail and bus, use that, if not you must
combine the two separate fees: Cost of Monthly Transportation __
 Plug this amount into your overall budget in Cell 19C
 Transportation Insurance
o If you are using public transportation enter 0
o If you are purchasing a car, it is assumed that you are 22 years old, have no at fault accidents, no tickets, and you
want to purchase the average state minimum. Even with a clean driving record, males typically pay more than
females for car insurance. Because most sites require you to enter a bunch of personal information, so the following
amounts were selected based on information I was able to find online from numerous sites.
 Males enter $75.50 in Cell 21C
 Females enter $66.17 in Cell 21C

Step 7: Health
 Medical + Dental Insurance – many employers provide health insurance but you will still have to cover a portion of the cost.
There are an infinite number of variables so to keep it simple, complete enter the information in this “Health Insurance
Marketplace Calculator” for uniformity. Remember, you will be 22 years old. You may not qualify for Marketplace Insurance but
it will give you a “Cost for Silver Plan” or 5.96% of your household income.
o https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/ (be sure to add this to your Bibliography)
o Monthly health insurance cost _$348_
o Add $13.95 per month for dental insurance for a total of _$361.95_
o Enter the combined total for Medical + Dental Insurance in Cell 22C
 Vision Insurance – If you currently have contacts or glasses add $25 to Cell 23C

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Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone

Step 8: Utilities – Regardless what type of dwelling you live in, you will have to pay some utilities. Go to https://www.move.org/utility-
bills-101/ to view the US Average Cost of Utilities per Month
 Apartment
o If you are living in an apartment, they typically cover the cost of water & trash (make sure that is the case) but you will
have to pay for any other utilities. You may opt out of cable if you like but nothing else!
 Electricity _$110.76_
 Natural Gas _$72.10_
 Water _$70.39_
 Cable _$0_
 Internet _$60_
 Trash/Recycling _$0_
 Monthly Total _$313.25_
o Enter the total in Cell 24C
 Home
o If you purchase a home, you have to pay for everything (again, only Cable is optional)
 Electricity __
 Natural Gas __
 Water __
 Cable __
 Internet __
 Trash/Recycling __
 Monthly Total __
o Enter the total in Cell 24C

Step 9: College Debt

 Because many of you qualify for HOPE, other scholarships, and/or may receive parental help for the cost of college, you will
not have to consider the full tuition cost of college, however, only 42% of students complete their bachelor’s degree without
debt. For students who take out loans, the average debt at graduation is $28400.00 and for those who do not borrow from any
loans the average debt at graduation is $16300.00. For this worksheet we are going to split it down the middle.
 We will assume your college debt is $22350.00
 Go to https://smartasset.com/student-loans/student-loan-calculator (remember to add this to your Bibliography)
o Enter your college debt with 4.29 interest rate for the following loan terms and enter the monthly payment and
lifetime cost of the loan for each term.
 10 year term: Monthly Payment _$229_ Lifetime cost _$27,525_
 15 year term: Monthly Payment _$169_ Lifetime cost _$30,346_
 20 year term: Monthly Payment _$139_ Lifetime cost _$33,330_
 25 year term: Monthly Payment _$122_ Lifetime cost _$36,474_
 30 year term: Monthly Payment _$110_ Lifetime cost _$39,770_

o Select which payment plan you are willing to use? _30_

o Enter the monthly payment for your payment plant to Cell 25C

Step 10: Gas Calculator

 If you own a car you will need to calculate the cost of gas for your car using a gasoline calculator: -
https://www.calculator.net/fuel-cost-calculator.html
 Assume you drive 15 miles a day- that is the average for Americans. Using the cost of gas per gallon today, calculate your
daily cost and multiply it by 30 (days)
 Plug this amount into your overall budget in Cell 26C
 If you do not own a car, enter 0

Step 11: Online Grocery Shopping:

 Food: Before you shop for groceries, plan for what meals you think you will be eating. Remember, if you are planning a meal,
it must be complete; for example if you plan to have a sandwich with chips and a soda you must buy everything you need:
bologna, bread, mustard, chips, and coke. Plan for one week worth of meals and snacks by completing the table below:
Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snacks
Sunday Eggs toast Chicken salad Baked potato ranch Chips
(chicken, mayo,
onion, pickle)
crackers
Monday Eggs toast Chicken salad Tomato rice crackers
(chicken, mayo,

Budget Assignment 4
Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone
onion, pickle)
crackers
Tuesday Eggs toast Chicken salad Baked potato ranch Granola bar
(chicken, mayo,
onion, pickle)
crackers
Wednesday Eggs toast Salad (lettuce, Spaghetti Chips
cucumber, oil,
vinegar)
Thursday Eggs toast Salad (lettuce, Baked potato ranch Cheese sticks
cucumber, oil,
vinegar)
Friday Eggs toast Salad (lettuce, Spaghetti Peanuts
cucumber, oil,
vinegar)
Saturday Eggs toast Ramen noodles Baked potato ranch Chips

 Other Groceries: You will also need to purchase essentials such as shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. Add 3 household items
and 3 toiletry items to the table below:
Household Toiletries
Item 1 detergent shampoo
Item 2 Dryer sheet Conditioner
Item 3 trashbags toothpaste

 Shop: Now go to: http://www.harristeeter.com/shopping/express_lane/express_lane.aspx

I know Harris Teeter is a little more expensive than Aldi or WalMart but when you consider that we are not calculating the cost
of eating out or Starbucks, it’s a good compromise.
o Using the link, search and select all of your grocery items from the 2 tables. When finished shopping, view cart.
 DO NOT PLACE THE ORDER!
 Select Print and save as a PDF
 The purpose of creating a cart on Harris Teeter is to see the actual total of your groceries. Multiply the
amount of your cart by 4 for your monthly cost _$294.52_
 Plug into your overall budget in Cell 30C

Step 12: Variable Expenses

 Review the other variable expenses listed. Some have minimums and some require additional research on your part if you feel
you can’t live with out them. Complete the table below for our variable expenses as you see fit but be realistic; if you are not
going to pay for cable but you are going to use NetFlix – you have to pay for it! Also, if you are going to live in Hawaii but want
to go home once per year, you need to add the cost of a round trip ticket!
 Provide an explanation for the calculated cost or lack thereof for each of the following cells:
Budge Cell ID Specific Items Cost per Month Explanation
31C household $10 Minimum fee, I have plenty in savings and
checking in case needed on a month by month
basis
32C No kids $0 No kids
33C No pets $0 No pets
34C Vehicle matenience $10 Plenty in savings if needed
35C Prescriptions $0 Plenty in savings if needed
36C clothing $10 Thrifting
37C Self-care $100 Might not use this much but I have plenty of
money to set this much aside for self-care
(haircuts, skin care, eyebrows, etc)
38C Netflix $8.99 Basic plan for Netflix
39C travel $100 Might travel who knows
40C Donations $100 Charities I would like to donate to
41C Cell phone $144 Average cell phone coverage
42C savings $2,000 About half of my income post-every expense. I
don’t really need 4,000 in my checking’s account
compared to 4,000

 Be sure to include any websites you used for research in your Bibliography!

Budget Assignment 5
Professional Profile #4 Post College Budgeting Harrison STEM Capstone

Analysis Questions

1. What did you learn about your monthly budget based on actual living costs (meaning: did you have enough money)?

I realized that I had plenty of money to spend despite how cheap I was told I would have to be. I could easily afford more

expensive stuff; however, I probably would stick to the cheap basic stuff just so I could save more money and not have to be

so tight on money.

2. Did anything surprise you?

I was shocked by how cheap most things are on a monthly scale. Yes, they are expensive, but with the salary I will be making

they are easily paid for. Also, I was shocked by how much money I would have left over after paying for all the expenses.

3. Looking at the big picture, how does this activity make you feel?

At first it was very depressing because I was told I would be in insane amount of debt which made me not even want to start

the assignment but then after researching and completing the assignment I feel very fulfilled because I will be in no stress over

money.

4. How can you apply what you have learned from this assignment to your life now?

I definitely learned how to create a budget and all that goes into a budget. I also saw proof of how if you save slowly over all of

your expenses the money will add up very quickly. I will be applying how to stay cheap and not buy overly expensive stuff to

my daily life. For example, I will look for the cheapest groceries before buying the expensive ones to compare the price

difference and see if it is worth it.

5. How will it affect your future decisions?

This assignment will definitely make me more money conscious because every bit of money saved adds up to a big fund that

could be spent on anything. I also learned that research into these topics is important because not everything is as cheap or

expensive as people will lead you to believe.

Budget Assignment 6