Heather has recently graduated from college and has landed her first job that grosses approximately $35 000 a year. She is extremely excited because the salary sounds like a huge amount of money. She knows that in order to manage her money well, she needs to create a plan for how to spend it - she needs to create a budget.

Her monthly income after deductions is $2041.

She has the following expenses to pay this month:

Rent $650 (utilities included) 

Cellphone $30

Car payment $310 

Entertainment $80

Insurance $105 

Personal items $30

Gas $100 

Clothing $75

OSAP loan repayment $200 

Cable/Internet $80

Food $200

 Shoes $75

Savings $100 

Visa bill for $230

Speeding ticket $100 

Bought (non-winning) lottery tickets$15

 

Task 1: Using the information above, place the expenses in the following charts. Then add up the total expenses. 

Fixed Expenses	$ Amount
Total	$

Flexible Expenses	$ Amount
Total	$

 

Task 2: Identify a  budget for Heather using the 50-30-20 rule. Indicate how much she should spend each month. Show your work. 

Needs: 

Wants:

Savings:

 

Task 3: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. 

1. Does Heather have enough income to cover all her expenses in her budget? Explain.

If Heather wishes to save 20% of her net income, how much money does she need to set aside for this in her planned budget?

Are her savings goals realistic based on the income she currently has?

How could Heather alter her budget in order to avoid shortfalls in covering her expenses and meet her savings goals?

Heather has to take five days off to assist her mother who is having surgery. She does not have health coverage that will cover her wages for those five days, so she will have to take them as a leave of absence without pay. How will she need to adjust her budget to deal with these lost wages?