The Personal Budgeting Practice
FIN 1325 Personal Finance
Fall 2013
Project 1: The Personal Budgeting Practice
A. Use daily spending dairy to create a balance sheet and an income & expense (cash flow) statement for yourself and/or your family. The balance sheet is dated Sep 30, 2013 and the income and expense statement is for September of 2013. These statements are worth 30 out of total 100 points.
B. Based on what you collect in September, estimate your income and expenses for the rest of 2013 to prepare for a budget. There is no penalty for being a bad estimator since the goal of the project is to learn more about yourself and/or your family. Then based on your estimates construct a preliminary budget for the rest of the year from Oct 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Knowledge of your income, consumption patterns, and life style is an important basis for your financial planning decisions. The budget is worth another 20 points.
C. The spending diary, The balance sheet, cash flow statement, and personal budget are due at the beginning of class on 10/3/2013. Late submissions will be marked down 5 points per class.
D. Physically keep track of your cash inflows and outflows by using daily spending dairy in appendix C for the month of October, 2013 and pay attention to topics covered in class not included in your initial budget. Use the information you collect on your monthly income and expenses in October to compare the difference between estimated and realized income/expenses in your budget you make at the beginning of October. If necessary, please construct a revised budget from your actual spending patterns and newly learned concepts. This is worth another 20 points.
E. Write a two-page (typed, double-space) summary about your experience. Your summary should include explanations for significant changes between your initial and revised budget, what were your biggest surprises, what you learned from the project, your opinion on the importance of a
Fall 2013
Project 1: The Personal Budgeting Practice
A. Use daily spending dairy to create a balance sheet and an income & expense (cash flow) statement for yourself and/or your family. The balance sheet is dated Sep 30, 2013 and the income and expense statement is for September of 2013. These statements are worth 30 out of total 100 points.
B. Based on what you collect in September, estimate your income and expenses for the rest of 2013 to prepare for a budget. There is no penalty for being a bad estimator since the goal of the project is to learn more about yourself and/or your family. Then based on your estimates construct a preliminary budget for the rest of the year from Oct 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Knowledge of your income, consumption patterns, and life style is an important basis for your financial planning decisions. The budget is worth another 20 points.
C. The spending diary, The balance sheet, cash flow statement, and personal budget are due at the beginning of class on 10/3/2013. Late submissions will be marked down 5 points per class.
D. Physically keep track of your cash inflows and outflows by using daily spending dairy in appendix C for the month of October, 2013 and pay attention to topics covered in class not included in your initial budget. Use the information you collect on your monthly income and expenses in October to compare the difference between estimated and realized income/expenses in your budget you make at the beginning of October. If necessary, please construct a revised budget from your actual spending patterns and newly learned concepts. This is worth another 20 points.
E. Write a two-page (typed, double-space) summary about your experience. Your summary should include explanations for significant changes between your initial and revised budget, what were your biggest surprises, what you learned from the project, your opinion on the importance of a