Creating a Successful Budget
Student Guide
Student Assignment
In this assignment, you will create two budgets and answer questions about how your budgets have
successfully met a long-term goal.
Directions
1. Gather materials and necessary information.
a) Ask your teacher which word-processing software you will be using.
b) Keep your lesson and assignment open in case you need to review what you have learned.
2. Read and follow each set of instructions carefully.
a) To create the budgets, type an amount of money into each cell of the tables you have been given.
Be sure to ask your teacher for help if you are not sure how to do this.
b) Make sure you complete the questions on each page.
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Student Guide (continued)
Section 1: Creating a Two-Month Budget
Imagine that you are a college student who lives away from home. You have a work-study job at your
college library, and you earn about $600 each month. You have one major long-term goal: you want to
save up money to visit your family soon, and you need at least $100 for your train tickets.
1. Create a budget that will allow you to save at least $100 by the end of October. (10 points)
Make sure your budget includes these fixed expenses:

The cost of rent ($250 each month for your shared apartment)

The cost of your bus pass ($40 each month)

The cost of books ($150, but only in September, at the beginning of the school year)
Make sure your budget considers these variable expense categories:

The cost of food

The cost of clothing

Discretionary spending (money to spend freely)
Personal Budget
Income and Expenses
September
October
job
600
600
Total income
600
600
rent
250
250
buss pass
40
40
books
150
0
Total fixed expenses
440
290
food
100
100
cloths
40
40
free spending
40
50
Total variable expenses
180
190
Total savings
80
120
Income
Fixed
expenses
Variable
expenses
Total
2. If changes happen during September or October, which expenses will you be able to change
most easily? Give an example of how you could make a change. (5 points)
cloths and free spending
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Student Guide (continued)
3. In which month did you save more money? (5 points)
october
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Student Guide (continued)
Section 2: Adapting to Changes
Throughout your life, you will need to adapt your budget to respond to changes in your income and
expenses. Now, it is time to practice making changes to a budget.
4. Change your previous budget to reflect these new factors. (10 points)

Your school announced that you will not have to pay for a bus pass to get to classes, because
a new school program will cover this expense for all students.

You just found out that your books will cost more than you had expected. You will now need to
spend an additional $100 on books in October.

You got an unexpected raise at work; you will now be making $650 each month.

Make sure that you are still meeting your overall goal of saving $100 by the end of October.
Personal Budget
Income and Expenses
September
October
job
650
650
Total income
650
650
rent
250
250
books
150
100
books
0
0
Total fixed expenses
400
350
food
100
100
cloths
50
50
free spending
50
50
Total variable expenses
200
200
Total savings
50
100
Income
Fixed
expenses
Variable
expenses
Total
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Student Guide (continued)
5. After your budget changed, which month had greater fixed expenses?
(5 points)
september
6. Which variable expenses did you change in order to maintain your goal of saving at least $100 by
the end of October? (5 points) cloths
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