Section 1

Section 1 Project: Create Your Own Personal Budget

 

In late 2010, Statistics Canada estimated that the average household debt was more than $96 000. This amount included credit-card debt, bank loans, lines of credit, and money borrowed to purchase a home. Economists worry that the more debt Canadians have, the less money they have to save or spend on goods and services. This debt will slow down Canada’s economy.

 

A bright spot in the report was the level of savings. In 2009, Canadians increased their savings from 2% to 5% of income. Personal savings are important as a cushion against the unexpected, as a means of rewarding yourself, and to protect your lifestyle upon retirement.

 

In Section 1 you will explore how to budget income to ensure savings and safeguard against the burden of excessive debt.

 

Goal

 

Your goal is to design a conservative personal budget based on your income and expenses.

 

Time

 

The aim is to complete this project in less than 2.5 hours. Each lesson in the module will direct you to complete one or more of the steps.

 

Steps

1. Report your average monthly income. Be sure to include any allowances or regular gifts, wages or salary from a job, or self-employed income.
   
   
2. Collect data on your monthly expenses. One excellent source of information is a debit card summary. If requested, your bank will provide a list of all your transactions. If you have several months of data on hand, you can organize your expenses into categories such as Housing, Entertainment, Clothing, and so on. If you don't have this information, tracking your spending for several days should help you arrive at reasonable monthly estimates.
   
   
3. Use the following budget information to draft a budget. The expense categories are suggestions only. For background, use information from throughout Section 1 and “How to Use a Spreadsheet” from Lesson 3. Change the category as you need by using something besides “Other” (as shown in this example on Line 10) and type in a category name that works for you. Save this budget as “My Budget.”
   
   
   
   
4. Modify your budget as necessary to follow the guidelines in Lesson 4. Once you are comfortable with the result, save your new budget as “My Modified Budget.”
   
   
5. In a short report or presentation, summarize what considerations you took in Steps 1 through 4. Explain your situation and budget in sufficient detail to enable another student to understand your thinking.

How You Will Be Evaluated

 

Your teacher will use the following rubric to evaluate your report.

 

SECTION 1 PROJECT RUBRIC

Score	Required Concepts	Connections	Budgets	Communication for Final Report
3 Exceeds Acceptable Standard	All of the project requirements have been addressed.	Explanations show a detailed understanding of connections between the mathematics of budgeting and their use in this project.	All required budgets are complete, correct, and free of mathematical errors.	The work is presented in a neat, clear, and organized fashion that is easy to read and/or see. Images and documents are used to support explanations.
2 Meets Acceptable Standard	Most of the project requirements have been addressed.	Explanations show an adequate understanding of the connections between the mathematics of budgeting and their use in this project.	There may be some minor errors or flaws in the budgets.	The work is presented in an organized fashion but may be hard to read and/or see at times. Images and documents are used.
1 Below the Acceptable Standard	Few of the project requirements have been addressed.	The response shows little understanding of the connections between the mathematics of budgeting and their use in this project.	There are major errors in the budgets.	The work appears sloppy and/or unorganized. It is hard to know what information goes together. Images and documents may not be used, or they are referred to inappropriately.
0 Does Not Meet the Minimum Standard	A minimal number of the project requirements have been addressed.	The response shows a lack of understanding of connections between the mathematics of budgeting and their use in this project.	There is not an  understandable attempt at using budgets.	There is not an understandable presentation of project work.
Total Score / 18	/3	/3 × 2 =   /6	/3 × 2 =   /6	/3