Nyla joined Michigan State in August 2022. In addition to pursuing her studies, she also works at a local grocery store, where she makes $1,000 monthly after taxes. At the end of August 2022, she had $1,147.5 in her savings account, which provides an annual interest rate of 1%.

During her transition between High School and College, she spent $450 of her $500 credit card limit on a luxury handbag at the Mall. The monthly bill for her credit card is $20.

Nylas total spending was $1802.50 in August. $352.50, which came from her savings account.

She plans to accumulate $5,000 annually in her savings account to start her graphic design business in 2026.

Nyla has no emergency funds. She needs a new dress for her older brothers wedding on December 10th, 2022. Nyla wants to reduce her expenditures to build up her savings account and emergency funds. Her boyfriend, Malick, has recently asked her to marry him so they can live together and have their first child next year.

She has realized she is not entirely in control of her finances and needs to make better decisions about her future. She wants to be financially secure and understands that she needs to plan for her financial future. She wants to use the six steps in the financial planning process to ensure she will make better financial decisions. Nyla has recently conducted some reflections for herself and has discovered much about her financial situation. She has found that her expenditures for the month are greater than the income she earns for the month. She realizes her current condition could lead to a significant financial problem if allowed to continue, so she will include cutting unnecessary expenditures as one of her goals in the next step of the process.

Additional information will be provided about Nyla as we go through the course.

1. Use the information above to help Nyla determine her current financial situation, develop SMART financial goals and create a financial action plan.
2. How would you help Nyla become more effective with her finances?
3. What strategy would you suggest to Nyla to help her avoid compulsive financial decisions, excessive debt, bankruptcy, and dependency on others?
4. What would be the interest earned by Nyla through her savings account after one year of investment? Use both the simple interest and future value formulations.