Budget Project

Being assigned this project our class had a chance to attempt to balance spending and
saving money as an adult. The requirements consisted of giving us a salary which we used to
calculate our monthly spendings and what we used with that money. Within our given salary, we
had to budget our spendings in order to afford a car, apartment, groceries with a minimum of
sixty meals, and have money for entertainment or long term goals.

Thanks to this assigned project, I learned the value of spending your money on the most
important things; such as rent, water/electric bill, car, ect, while at the same time saving for
entertainment or going out with friends. Along with that I also learned the thought process
behind making important and wise decisions when it comes to budgeting. For example, I found
it difficult to steer away from the more expensive things I wanted and lean towards items that
are used for the same purpose but cheaper. An example of this was used in my grocery list by
steering away from specific name brands and buying the same item but at a much decent price.
I made these choices in order to be financially comfortable with living on my own and for the
sole purpose of being stable with other spendings. Scarcity did affect me personally in my
project because of my monthly income being at $2,740.

Some factors took a toll on my project more than any else; tradeoffs and opportunity
costs. In order to stay financially stable I set on an older car and a cheap rent in order to pay off
my loans and order enough groceries for myself. This allowed me to focus needs over wants,
but in the end it ended up being best for my budgeting and for choosing a healthy long term
spending habit.

If I had $200 less than my given monthly salary, $2,740, the new amount would be a
total of $2,540. In this case I would spend less money on things I don’t necessarily need such
as clothes and going out and prioritizing that money on expenses such as rent and the
water/electricity bill. If I had $200 more than my original monthly salary, I would have a total of
$2,940. I would prioritize saving the extra $200 for my short and long term goals, such as going
on vacation or even emergency funds. Overall, this project taught me the difficulties of
budgeting through my wants and needs, but ultimately showing that budgeting alone can make
tracking your spending a lot easier.