Bellevue Business Education

SPARTANS DOLLARS & CENTS BUDGETING SIMULATION

PURPOSE: To learn how to prepare a usable budget and reinforce the value of creating one to track monthly income and expenses.

GOALS: You will be able to:

1. Create a usable budget for a simulated month
2. See the importance of and make choices for a budget
3. Use classified ads to explore housing and transportation options
4. Experience unexpected events that affect a personal or family budget

RIGHT NOW:

1. Get a card that identifies you career and annual income. You must stay within your given career’s income when creating your budget. Each card informs you of your health insurance and employer-sponsored retirement status.
2. Find out your monthly gross income.
3. Get your budget sheet. Look at the top portion of your budget sheet to see your tax obligations. Notice the amount of your payroll taxes.
   1. What is the difference between gross income and net income.
4. Get the Lifestyle Questionaire and complete it. It will assist you in exploring your community’s cost-of-living expenses.
   1. On the questionnaire you should list the town in which you live based on the house or apartment you choose from the local newspaper/online. On your career/income card, there is a notation of how far you can travel to your job. This should be used to calculate the cost for gasoline.
   2. Food Section: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   3. Housing: Use the internet to find the cost of renting in our community. Choose rent a house OR an apartment AND roommate, if you have one and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   4. Utilities: Choose house OR apartment AND roommate, if you have one and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   5. Telephone: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   6. Cable/Satellite TV: Choose basic OR basic with premium channels AND roommate, if you have one and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   7. Car Payment: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   8. Car Maintenance: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   9. Car Insurance: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   10. Gasoline: Choose 1and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   11. Clothing: Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   12. Personal Care: Choose those that apply to you and ADD THEM UP and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   13. Medical Expenses: Optional. If you have one, record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   14. Health Insurance: Look at your card to decide & choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   15. Life Insurance: This covers the loss of a deceased person’s income and/or household services. It can provide financial assistance to cover funeral arrangements for the deceased as well. If you have it on you it will help your survivors. If you have it on another member of your family with will help you pay for things mentioned above. Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   16. Renter’s Insurance: This is a type of home insurance that protects against damage and losses that occur in an apartment or a rented residence. This insurance also protects belongings and helps pay for any accidents that may occur to other people while they are in another individual’s apartment or rented home. Choose 1 and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   17. Savings: Optional. If you choose to save, record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   18. Retirement: Look at your card and and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   19. Gifts: Choose as many as they apply to you, add them up, and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   20. Entertainment: Choose as many as they apply to you, add them up, and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   21. Vacation/Travel: Decide on what applies to your situation, and  record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   22. Donations: Choose as many as they apply to you, add them up, and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
   23. Subscriptions and Memberships: Choose as many as they apply to you, add them up, and record your response on your budget form under the FIRST TIME column.
5. Add up the monthly expense amounts and record your monthly expenses on your budget worksheet in the FIRST TIME column next to Subtotal of expenses.
6. Get an action card. This is an example of an unanticipated life occurrence. This occurrence can be positive or negative. When an unexpected situation occurs, it often has an impact on a person’s budget. Account for the unexpected occurrence on your budget sheet at the bottom of the FIRST TIME column next to ACTION CARD EXPENSE OR at the top of the handout in the INCOME section beside ACTION CARD INCOME.
7. Add up your total income at the top of the FIRST TIME column and write your answer next to TOTAL NET MONTHLY INCOME.
8. Add up your total expenses including your ACTION CARD EXPENSE (if you had one) and record your answer next to TOTAL EXPENSES at the bottom of the budget sheet.
9. If your income is greater than your expenses, congratulations!! But reflect:
   1. Are your expenses realistic?
   2. Did you tally all necessary expenses for living on your own?
   3. Make sure you budget money for optional expenditures such as entertainment, holidays or special occasions such as birthdays, etc.
   4. Consider increasing your monthly contribution to your savings account.
   5. Complete the REVISION column of your budget with your adjustments.
10. If your expenses are greater than your income, review your expenses:
    1. Which expenses are easiest to reduce?
    2. Which expenses are fixed? What is a fixed expense?
    3. Complete the REVISIONS column of your budget with your adjustments.
11. Open your Word Online file and respond to the following questions:
    1. How do you feel about the budget you created? What aspects of the budget will be hard for you to live with , and what areas were easy choices?
    2. Which expenses cost more than you expected?
    3. What were some of the things you discovered about your spending habits? Can you think of ways you could save money?
    4. How did it gell when you received an action card?Is this a reality in life?
    5. Think about recent events where a family experienced a disaster. What if that had happened to you? Does that make you reconsider your decision about insurance, either renter’s or health or life or car insurance?
    6. Why is it valuable to prepare a monthly budget? Note that more than half of all millionaires actually prepare one! When you have a job and income, will you do it? Why or why not?