Develop a personal budget as part of a financial plan. Use the textbook as your guide, but you can use any resource at your disposal; just make sure to cite your sources. As part of this budget you should address the following required elements:

Identify personal financial goals as a start for a personal financial plan (short-term, intermediate-term, long-term, opportunity cost)

Identify inflows of cash (use spending diary)

Identify outflows of cash (use spending diary)

Outline a cash flow plan (interpret data and develop a plan)

Construct personal financial statements

Construct a budget (interpret data and develop a plan to meet short-term goals, at a minimum)

Now that you have constructed your budget, an expense unexpectedly comes up in your life, for example your car breaks down, your roof needs to be replaced, your college books cost $300 more than expected, etc. How will you solve a financial crisis that hits you? What solutions can you come up with? How do your solutions differ based on the total cost of the expense (few hundred dollars vs. thousands of dollars)?

You will use the 5-step critical thinking problem-solving process, IDEAS, to work through any problems to determine a solution for a given problem and for any other problems you encounter.

I IDENTIFY the Problem and Set Priorities (Step 1)

D DEEPEN Understanding and Gather Relevant Information (Step 2)

E ENUMERATE Options and Anticipate Consequences (Step 3)

A ASSESS the Situation and Make a Preliminary Decision (Step 4)

S SCRUTINIZE the Process and Self-Correct as Needed (Step 5)

use fictious data