Balance your bank account!!!

You may be wondering, why do I need to know how to balance a bank account? Doesn’t
a computer do it all for me?? You would be correct, but sometimes computers make
errors!! They aren’t 100% accurate! PLUS, you need to know what you are spending
your money on so that you don’t go into debt! You never want to spend MORE money
than you MAKE!

A lot of students get into trouble when they get their first credit card. They get a credit
card not knowing that they are borrowing money, this is called debt. People will get into
a lot of debt this way and in some cases; it is VERY hard to get out of debt!
In this project, you will be given a salary. Pretend that you have just graduated from
school and you get a job that has a salary. You will calculate how much money you
make each month and also the amount that you can spend per month. You will calculate
your bills and then balance your bank account.

We are only balancing our bank account for one month. Make sure you don’t over spend
and go into debt!!!

In the beginning of the project, you will do some research to choose a house to live in, a
car to drive and other basic bills you will have living on your own.

You already have the basics for living such as a fridge, a bed, a basic TV, couches, pots,
pans, etc. Your parents already purchased you a basic smart phone; you will just have to
takeover the bill. Sadly, you do not have a laptop yet.

Steps to take to balance bank account:

1. Calculate monthly income

2. Calculate bills for each month.
3. Fill in the bank account balance sheet for each new bill you have.
4. Write a check for each expense you have.
3. You may get a Random Expense or a Surprise Income card.
4. Calculate all your costs to make sure you do not spend over what you make.

To start:

1. List your roommate(s) here. You may only live with 2 or 3 other people:

2. Roll a dice. Circle the number you rolled IN PEN:

1 2 3 4 5 6
Gross Salary: Amount paid before taxes are taken out.
Net Salary: Amount paid after taxes are taken out.

The number you rolled, represents your gross yearly salary below:

1. 24,000
2. 26,000
3. 28,000
4. 29,000
5. 32.000
6. 35,000

3. Calculate your monthly net income.

How many months are there in a year? _________

How do you calculate your monthly gross salary? Write equation here. ______________

What is YOUR monthly gross salary? ________________

Deduction Type Tax rate Monthly Amount Owed

Federal Taxes 15% of salary

Social Security/Medicare/ 7% of salary

Retirement
State Tax 3% of salary

Medical Insurance $100

Total Monthly Deductions

(Add all your deductions together) =

Your Income:

Gross annual income _________________

Gross monthly income _________________

Total monthly deductions _________________

TOTAL NET MONTHLY INCOME: ______________

(This is the amount you have to live off each month without going into debt)
Living Expense #1: Housing Accommodations

Research online for a local apartment/house to rent. You and each of your roommates
should have their own room. Your group should turn in a PowerPoint and the ad or
screenshot of the ad for the apartment should be slide one.

How much is your monthly rent? _________________________________

Will there be an extra charge for the roommate who gets the master bedroom? Yes / No
If yes, who gets the master and how much extra do they pay? ________________

How much of the rent will you pay? _____________________________

(show calculations)

Living Expense #2: Car

1. Since you are only calculating a month’s living expenses, you will be leasing a car.
You will already be in the lease of this car. Please research online a car to lease. It
needs to be an ad from a local car retailer.

The ad of your car with the leasing information should be slide two.

Write the amount per month for leasing your car: _______________________

2. Car Insurance is mandatory to have to drive a car legally. Car insurance prices can
differ greatly by your age and driving record. Let’s say you are a responsible driver who
gets straight A’s. Let’s say your insurance company will only charge you $250 a month
for car insurance. (Average is $260 for an 18-year-old with good driving record and
basic coverage. Full coverage for an 18-year-old is on average $464 a month.)

3. When having a car, you will need to pay for gas! Please research these items:

Your car’s miles per gallon (how many miles will your car go
with just 1 gallon of gas): ____________________________

How much is 1 gallon of gas in your city right now? ____________________________

If you drive 500 miles a month, how many gallons of gas

will you need to buy each month? ____________________________

Calculate the total amount you will spend on gas a month. Show all your work here:

TOTAL for gas per month: ________________________

Calculate the total cost for having a car:

Total for your lease: ______________
Total for car insurance: +_____100_____
Total for gas per month: +_____________
Grand total added together = _____________

Living Expense #3: Utilities

Utilities are services provided to your home for you to live in comfort. Such as AC, heat,
electricity, water, trash services, etc. You will need to calculate these expenses per house
and split them up with your roommates. If your utilities are included with your
apartment, place that information in slide two, if not research the average electric bill cost
for the town in which you will be living. On slide two include a screenshot of the
information you find online or the weblink you used.

1. Electricity: This covers running appliances and lighting. Pick one bill in your group
that you would like to use.

Amount of electricity bills total __________________

Divide the bill equally between you and the roommates,

What is your portion of the bill? Show work. __________________

2. Water: this covers paying for the water you use that the city provides. It also includes
trash services. Pick one bill in your group that you would like to use. If this is included
in your apartment rent include that information on slide two. If not follow the same
procedure you did for the electricity.

Amount of water bills total __________________

Divide the bill equally between you and the roommates,

What is your portion of the bill? Show work. __________________

Calculate the total cost for utility services:

Total for your share of electricity: ______________

Total for your share of water: +_____________

Grand total added together = _____________

Living Expenses #5: Entertainment and Communication

These are services we want, and not necessarily need to live everyday life, but most
people have them so you will also. You can buy each service individually, or bundle.
You may split TV and WIFI services with your roommates, but if you have a cell phone,
the cost will be only yours! This may also be included in your rent. If so, place that
information on slide 2.

1. Cable TV and Internet Services

Research online different prices for cable TV and Internet services. List what services
you want to order for you and your roommates. List the cost per month it will be. If this
is included in your rent, you may skip this part. If not, either include the price the
apartment complex charges you or a screenshot or weblink of the information you
find with the cable/internet company on slide two. Make sure it is a local company.

Cost for Cable TV: __________________

Cost for Internet: __________________

Cost of a bundle with Cable TV/Internet/ and possibly HBO/ etc

Also, list what is included in your bundled price. __________________

Which service will you be choosing to go with? __________________

How much will the total bill be, with 9% tax included? __________________

How much is your part of the services? __________________

If you and your roommates chose NOT to get cable TV or Internet, please explain why:
________________________________________________________________________

2. Cell Phone Service

Research the cost of a cell phone plan. Assume that you already have a working cell
phone and you do not need to buy a new one. Make sure your plan has everything you
need, such as enough minutes, unlimited texting, wireless data, etc. Include your cell
phone service information you found in your research on slide 3.

If you want to add insurance, this will be about $20 a month extra.

Cost of Cell Phone Plan ______________________________

Do you want Insurance? Yes/ No

What is included in your cell phone plan? _______________________________

________________________________________________
Calculate the total cost for entertainment services:

Total for your share of Cable and Internet: ______________

Total for your Cell Phone: +_____________

Grand total added together: = _____________

Expense #5: Food

People buy two types of food. They buy food from a restaurant or food from a grocery
store. You will be no different.

We will assume you pay $300 for store bought food a month. Complete the table below
to calculate how much you plan to spend as restaurants. Use your local averages costs to
round and estimate costs. They do no have to be exact to the penny.

Name of Restaurant # of meals per Cost per meal Total cost per month
month at this at this restaurant
restaurant

Total Spent in Restaurants =

Add in the amount you spend on store bought foods: + $300.00

Total spent on food per month: =__________________

Expense #6: Personal Supplies and Clothing:

You will spend between $50-$100 a month on personal supplies and/or clothing.

You decide how much you need per month. If you think you need more, budget for
more.
Total spent on supplies per month: =__________________

Expense #7: Charity and Savings

Everyone should have a choice to donate to charity or put money into savings. A lot of
people choose not to do either option. You want to be an outstanding member of society
so you should choose to do both items.

1. One way to donate to charity is to tutor kids, volunteer at non-profit organizations,

help at clinics, hospitals, churches, working around your neighborhood, etc. You could
also donate money to any charity of your choice. Donating at least $50 per month or $50
worth of services is a great place to start for charity as such a young member of society.

2. Putting money into your savings account is like paying yourself in the future. It’s
really hard to not spend all the money you get, but your future self will be very thankful!
A lot of people do not start saving until they are older, and this is not a very good habit.

All the money you save now will earn interest in the bank as long as you don’t spend it.
You could become very rich when you retire if you just start saving at a young age!

You should write a check for at LEAST $100 a month for savings.

Calculate the total cost for charity and savings:

Total spent on Charity: ______________

Total to put into savings: +_____________

Total spent on charity and savings per month: =______________

You have now figured out all of your basic monthly expenses!! It is now time to write
checks to pay your monthly bills!

Use the given table to calculate your account balance. You must deposit your salary for a
months work first. After you deposit your salary, you now have money in your account
to pay off your living expenses. Write a check to each major company to pay your bills.
For food, you may use a Debit Card (you may pay it all at once).

Since you have roommates, one of you MUST pay the bill in FULL!! Companies will not
accept multiple checks that add up to the full amount of a bill. This means you need to
give your roommates money for shared bills or your roommates will need to give YOU
money to pay a shared bill. Talk with your roommates as to who will pay which bill and
make note of who you need to pay for which bill.

On your check, make sure you write in the “Memo” what the check is going to pay for.
 Account Balance Worksheet
List all of your deposits and expenses. Don’t leave anything out!!!

C#= Check Number

DC= Debit Card
Check Payee= Person/Company the check is written for

C# or Name of Check Expense Deposit Expense

DC Payee Amount Amount

TOTALS
Take away expenses from deposits and write the amount below.
Final Account Balance: =________________
Reflection:
1. Did you get a positive account balance or a negative account balance?

 If you got a positive account balance, how were you able to keep leftover money
in your account?

 If you got a negative account balance, how did this happen? What would you do
differently to attempt to get a positive account balance?

2. What are some repercussions in life for having a negative account balance?

3. How did you decide who paid which bills??

4. Was it hard researching each expense??

 Which was the easiest to research? Why?

 Which was the hardest to research? Why?

5. Which of your roommates paid which bills?

6. How does this project relate to real life?

7. How will this project help you when it comes to living on your own?

8. What did you learn while doing this project?

9. Is there anything else about this project you would like to share with me?