Alisons Monthly Utility Expenses
Monthly Utilities	Amount
January	$119.09
February	$110.37
March	$101.44
April	$98.06
May	$63.30
June	$55.90
July	$49.22
August	$54.10
September	$69.34
October	$81.29
November	$101.78
December	$114.53

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1.

Allison needs to budget for utilities based on her share of the utility bills for the past year. Using the information in the above chart, calculate the average monthly utility expense and the range of monthly utility expenses for the past year. Round your answer two places to the right of the decimal point. Refer to the tutorial on Calculating the Average and the Range to answer the following.

1a.

Monthly Average =

1b.

Range for Past Year =

2.

At the beginning of January, Alison estimated the amount of money she would spend during the month. At the end of January, she reviewed her actual expenses and updated her budget. In the budget chart below, classify each of Alisons expenses as fixed, variable, or periodic. Be sure to review Resource R2 Types of Household Expenses carefully before classifying each of the expenses. Select the classification labels of F, V or P in the column labeled Type of Expense(numbers 2a-2m). F = Fixed V = Variable P = Periodic

3.

What is the monthly expense for car insurance? Enter amount into the chart below, in the column labeled Actual Expenses for January.

4.

What is the monthly expense for cleaning supplies? Enter amount into the chart below, in the column labeled Actual Expenses for January.

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Alisons Expense Types
Expense Category	Estimated Expenses for January	Actual Expenses for January	Type of Expense
Car Insurance	$153 quarterly (every three months)	3.	2a. F V P
Car Payment	$318	$318	2b. F V P
Car Repair/Maintenance	$0	$200	2c. F V P
Cleaning Supplies	$50 fixed every two months	4.	2d. F V P
Credit Card Debt	$75	$86	2e. F V P
Eating Out/Snacks	$100	$115	2f. F V P
Gas	$160	$155	2g. F V P
Groceries	$225	$217	2h. F V P
Phone	$76	$76	2i. F V P
Rent	$522	$522	2j. F V P
Savings	$75	$75	2k. F V P
Toiletries	$75	$80	2l. F V P
Utilities (Electric and Water)	--	$41	2m. F V P

5.

Alison took home a salary of $2,500 for the month of January. Compare this figure with her total expenditures for the month. What is the amount of her net surplus or deficit for the month?

6.

The Nguyen familys total spendable income is $40,000. They have established a total budget of $37,338 for the year. Calculate the percentage of this total budget that the Nguyen family budgeted for each category in the table below. Refer to the tutorial on Calculating Percentage Change in Total Budget in the tutorial tab. Round the percentages to the nearest whole number. Including a percent sign next to each number for a. through h. will ensure a percent sign in your pie chart for question 7. However, percent signs are not required.

Nguyen Budget Percentages
Budget Category	Budgeted Expense	Percent of Total Budget
Food (Groceries and Dining out)	$10,000	6a.
Transportation	$8,500	6b.
Housing	$15,400	6c.
Insurance	$800	6d.
Gifts and Charity	$700	6e.
Personal Care	$1,140	6f.
Entertainment	$798	6g.
Savings or Investments	$0	6h.
Total	$37,338	100%

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7.

Use spreadsheet software to open a new worksheet. Using the data from the table above, create a pie chart to represent the proportion of budgeted expenses the Nguyen family established for each category; be sure to label each category with the title and percent. Round percentage amounts to the nearest whole number. Refer to the tutorial on Creating a Pie Chart in the tutorial tab.

Nguyen Budgeted and Actual Expenses
Budget Category	Budgeted Expense	Actual Expense
Food (Groceries and Dining out)	$10,000	$13,370
Transportation	$8,500	$7,400
Housing	$15,400	$15,400
Insurance	$800	$800
Gifts and Charity	$700	$580
Personal Care	$1,140	$1,200
Entertainment	$798	$800
Savings or Investments	$0	$0
Grand Total	$37,338	$39,550

8.

The Nguyen family has totaled the amount of money that they actually spent last year (in each category of household expenses) in the right column of the chart above. Use Resource R3 to analyze the Nguyen familys budget, and list three ways they could reduce their spending and household expenses.

8a.

8b.

8c.