Senior Project
Budget Requirements
Your job is to create a hypothetical budget based on the STARTING income of the career path you plan
to pursue. All budget projects must meet the following criteria:
1. Must be typed.
2. Must include a minimum of five sources that you used to determine average STARTING salary
for your career, average rental/housing prices in the place you plan to live, insurance costs etc.
3. Budget MUST balance. (Income = Expense).
4. Must include information about living plans. For example, if you plan to have a roommate, you
need to state that a roommate will share certain expenses.
5. Must include the percentage of your income that each budget category represents.
6. Try to model the 50/20/30 rule. (50% Necessary Living Expenses, 20% Financial Priorities, 30%
Lifestyle Choices) This will be very hard on a starting income.
Budget Categories that MUST be included:
* If you do not want to spend money on one of these, simply put $0 in the category and give an explanation.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Gross Monthly Salary
Estimated Monthly Salary After Taxes
Savings Contribution
Investment Contribution
Housing
Car Payment
Car Insurance
Car Maintenance
Gas
Electric/Power
Water
Phone
Cable/TV
Internet
Groceries
Medical Expenses
Clothing
Charity
Entertainment
Optional Budget Categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Travel
Student Loan Debt
Education
Fitness and Health
Childcare
Pet Care
Gifts
Emergency
Home Repair
You may also want to think about insurance
costs. For example, health insurance (if not on
parents’, life insurance, disability insurance,
cancer insurance, etc.
Kit Carson
Senior Project: Create a Budget
January 17, 2013
Selected Career: High School Teacher
Average Starting Salary (Gross): $32,000 (in Georgia)
Average Monthly Salary (Gross): $2,666.00
Net Monthly Salary: $1999.50 = Total Monthly Income
Budget
Category
Financial
Priorities
Saving
Investment
Necessary Living
Expenses
Housing
Amount
Car Payment
Car Insurance
Car
Maintenance
Gas
Student Loan
Debt
Electric/Power
Water
Groceries
Medical
Lifestyle Choices
Phone
Internet
Charity
Gifts
Entertainment
and Clothing
Total Budget
%of Budget
Explanation
17.5%
$200.00
$150.00
10%
7.5%
72.75%
$375
18.75%
$0
$150
$100
0
7.5%
5%
$150
$100
7.5%
5%
$30
$0
$400
$150
1.5%
$0
$0
$50
$40
$104.5
20%
7.5%
9.7%
0
0
2.5%
2.0%
5.2%
$1999.50
99.95%
Rent an apartment in Athens area;
Will split rent payment with roommates
Will continue to drive old car that is paid for
Oil changes and saving up for periodic car expenses like
tag, tires, etc.
Electric bill shared with roommate
Included in rent
Insurance, co-pays, medicine, including OTC
Parents have agreed to pay for a year
Wi-Fi included in rent
Sources:
Disney, Walt. Personal Interview. August 17, 2014.
"Rent Athens." Rent Athens. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <http://www.rentathens.com>."2014 Georiga Teacher
Salary Schedule." . Georgia Department of Education, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
<https://www.gadoe.org/Finance-and-Business-Operations/BudgetServices/Documents/FY2014_StateSalarySchedule_Official.pdf>.