1. Choose a car (new or used) that you would like to purchase. Be sure to think about the type of car that you would realistically consider purchasing in the next couple of years (not your ultimate dream car). Once you have selected a car, verify that you can find maintenance information for your car on the Edmunds site (see number 7 below). If your car is not listed on the Edmunds site, please pick a similar car which is listed on the Edmunds site and use it for the rest of your calculations. List the car information, including the make, model, year, and list price in item one of the table.

2. Determine the amount of your down payment. For this project, make a 10% downpayment and fill in the amount in item 2 of the table. In the real world, individuals can choose a different amount, and in fact some loans do not require a downpayment.

3. Calculate the 3% tax (in N.C., we pay a 3% highway use tax in lieu of state sales tax). The tax is based on the list price. Source: Link to government highway use tax website.

4. Calculate the total amount to be financed. To find the total amount financed, take the list price minus the deposit plus the highway use tax.

5. Determine the interest rate for the car. Link to State Employee's Credit Union Website to research rates. Or, if you prefer, you can look up the rates on another legitimate website (cite your source). Decide on the term of a loan (number of years) that would be reasonable for you. List your rates, term, and source in the table.

6. Calculate your monthly payment, total installment price, finance charge, and yearly payments using the formulas in the book from Unit 3 Section 3. To find the yearly amount, take the monthly payment times 12.

7. Insurance rates are calculated on many factors such as: Age, Gender, Driving Record, Make/Model/Year of car, number of years driving etc. Insurance rates will very per individual, however for this project, use the following average rates provided by my insurance agent: $2000/year for full coverage on a new car, $1500/year for full coverage on a used car.

8. Include the Department of Motor Vehicles Fee of $28 per year.

9. Calculate the maintenance cost per year by going to Link to the Edmunds True Cost to Own Your Car Website. Divide the 5 Yr Total maintenance amount by 5 to get the average annual cost. Include your work in the middle column of the table and your one year maintenance cost in the right column.

10. Calculate fuel costs based on your cars average MPG (look it up!) and the average cost of a gallon of gas ($2.75/gallon). You will need to estimate how many miles you drive per year. If you have no idea, you can you use 12,000 miles, which is the national average.

11. & 12. Calculate the county and city/municipal taxes. Tax rate schedules for all counties and municipalities can be found on the Internet (search for property tax rates). However, for this project, we will assume that everyone lives in Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte. Use the following rates: Mecklenburg has a tax of $0.8157 per $100 of the cars value and Charlotte has a tax of $0.437 per $100 of the cars value. For example, if your car has a value of $12,000, then the Mecklenburg county tax is ($0.8157)(12,000/100) = $97.88.

13. Calculate the Grand Total (rows 6 through 12: the sum of yearly payments, insurance, DMV fee, maintenance, fuel, and taxes,).

14. Calulate the Super Grand Total(over entire length of loan): (Grand Total times # years of loan, plus down payment) Car Calculations Worksheet Directions Descriptions and work space Fill this column with your numbers. # 1 Record your Cars Make, Model and Year: Make: Model: Year: List price of Car: # 2 Down payment: (10 %) # 3 N.C. Highway Use Fee: (3% of list price) # 4 Total amount to be financed: # 5 Interest rate: _________ and length of loan: __________ Source: Leave Blank # 6 Monthly Payment: Total Installment Price: Finance Charge: Yearly amount: # 7 Insurance costs (yearly): # 8 Department of Motor Vehicles fee (yearly): # 9 Total maintenance costs (yearly): # 10 Fuel costs (yearly): # 11 County taxes (yearly): # 12 City taxes (yearly): # 13 Grand Total (yearly): (the sum of yearly payments, insurance, DMV fee, maintenance, fuel, and taxes) # 14 Super Grand Total (over entire length of loan): (Grand Total *# years of loan, plus down payment)

15. If you have a job making minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, how many hours do you need to work per month just to pay your car expenses? How many hours do you need to work per week to pay your car expenses (assuming there are 4 weeks per month)? Make sure to answer both questions. (Hint: To calculate your car expenses, divide your Grand Total by 12) Show your work.

16. How many hours do you need to work per month and per week if you make $8.25 an hour? Show your work.

17. How many hours do you need to work per month and per week if you make $10.00 an hour? Show your work.

18. Complete the chart for the yearly cost of the car. In the space below write the Grand Total and the cost of the car over the life of the loan (Super Grand Total). Based on your calculations do these figures make sense? Discuss whether these numbers are higher or lower than you expected and whether you personally would be able to afford this vehicle. Make sure you consider and discuss other life expenses. All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences. Grand Total: Super Grand Total:

19. Review your answers from number 16, 17 and 18. Based upon the information from your car calculations, would an individual be able to afford this car if they earned $7.25 per, $8.25 per hour or $10.00 per hour? Give details to justify your reasoning and discuss your options. Make sure you consider and discuss other life expenses. All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences. Managing a Budget

20. Your good friend George needs some financial advise. He is thinking about buying a car and a house. Help George calulate his expenses and give him some friendly advice on his planned purchases. Here is Georges story. George just graduated from CPCC in nursing and received his LPN license. He is starting his new job and will be making 60,000 a year. He will have to pay 19% of his income to pay for taxes and social security (SS) and 5% of his income to a forced employer retirement plan. How much of his income will he have left to spend? Fill in the table below: Description Amount Income Amount Paid to Taxes and SS Amount Paid to Retirement Account Amount Left to Spend

21. Help George evaluate his budget. His current rent payment is $1,200 a month and his utilities total $210 each month. George spends $135 on a bundle for his house phone, cell phone, internet and cable bill every month. He has always believed that it is important to live a healthy lifestyle so he spends $450 a month on groceries and $68.00 a month for a gym membership. His health insurance for the month totals $245.00. George does not have much time to go out but he makes sure that he treats himself to dinner and a movie at least twice a month that costs $40.00 each time. He always puts away $350 each month into his personal savings account for retirement so he will not use this money for paying bills. George also puts away $75.00 each week for a vacation fund (assume that there are 4 weeks in a month). George loves his lattes and spends $4.50 on coffee 3 times a week. George wants to purchase a car but is not sure if it will fit his budget. Please compute Georges income and expenses and determine if he can afford buying a new car. Monthly Expenses: Enter the monthly expenses for each item, then add them together to find your Total Monthly Expenses. Monthtly Expenses Description Amount Home Mortgage/Rent/HOA Utilities (Gas, Electric, Water) Phone/Internet Bundle Food Groceries Health Health Club Health Insurance Entertainment Dining Out/Movies Vacation Savings (Put into an account each month) Other Total Monthly Expenses Add up all the rows Fill in the summary table below to see if they are on budget. Subtract the expenses from the income to find the monthly net total. Monthly Budget Summary Amount Monthly Income Total Monthly Expenses Total Monthly Net Total

22) Based upon the information from your car calculations, would George be able to afford the car you selected? Give details to justify your reasoning and discuss Georges options. All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences.

23) George would like to buy his dream house for $400,000. He finances the whole purchase price of $400,000. Calculate his monthly payment if he secures a home mortgage loan at 3% APR for 30 years.

24) Financial advisors use a general rule that your monthly payment for your home mortgage should not be more than one third your monthly income. Use the amount George has left to spend from number 20 to calculate his monthly income. Discuss whether George will be able to afford his dream house in number 23. Give details to justify your reasoning and discuss Georgess options. All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences.

25) Each year Georges employer takes 5% of his income and deposits it into a forced employer retirement plan. Instead of making one deposit, Georges Employer makes monthly deposits of 1/12th of the annual amount taken out of his pay check. If George works for the company for 30 years, how much money will be in the account if it earns 5% interest each year. Hint: Use the regular deposit formula (annuity) from page 248 in the book). Assume poor George does not get a raise during the 30 years, and the monthly deposit stays the same for 30 years.

26) What does it mean if your Monthly Net Total is positive, negative, or zero? Explain which situation is more advantages, having a positive, negative or zero Monthly Net Total. All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences.

27) What have you learned from this project? All verbal responses must be in complete sentences. Your response should be at least 6 sentences.