50 Point Financial Assignment Dr. Lyles – Health and WellnessConnor Marshman

1. Track Spending for 1 week (very detailed—put into an xls document)

 

Spending for Connor Marsh-man Feb 2-8  

2-Feb-14 $100 Cash Deposit

3-Feb-14 ($18)Sport Clips Hair-cut

4-Feb-14 ($40)School Supplies5-Feb-14 $0  6-Feb-14 ($30)Gas for car7-Feb-14 $50 Cash Deposit8-Feb-14 $0  

Total Balance: $62  2. Document: Monthly Income (financial aid); Debt (Loans (auto; home; credit card

debt; overdraft); Assets-what you currently have (cash; savings; investments)—put

into an xls document

Monthly Expenses for Connor Marshman  School scholarship $760 Additional scholarships $225 Additional Support from parents $200 Work study $200 Cost of gas/tolls ($300)Cost for tuition ($985)Cost of phone ($35)Total Balance: $65

3. Complete calculator found on-line. Use as a month to month budget. You will an-

ticipate your expenses for 1 year of college: http://www.waddell.com/personal_in-

vestors/interactive-planning-detail.aspx?calculator=StudentBudget (Submit a copy

of the calculator to the dropbox as a pdf or word doc.)

50 Point Financial Assignment Dr. Lyles – Health and WellnessConnor Marshman

4. Think about your possible career—Find out the starting average salary (if not de-

cided—think about 2 top choices); also find out if you will need additional training

(master’s degree etc.). Tell me your plan for getting to your goal. Will you go

straight into a master’s program, work first, etc?

Optimistically for my degree in Graphics and Multimedia, a starting salary as a multime-

dia designer would be around $40,000. I would not be against future education, but I

would like to find placement in a job immediately after I graduate with my bachelor’s de-

gree. I am trying to intern at a magazine company in the Pittsburgh area. Ideally, I would

love to get a job from that internship. Once I obtain a job, I likely will work my way up a

pay-scale through the years. Ultimately, I would like to be self-employed and have my

own business once I have established my skills.

5. Research anticipated expenses—where you would like to live (how much does an

apartment cost?; auto; student loans; anticipated expenses for food; gas/electricity,

etc.)

I would like to stay in the Pittsburgh area. Doing some research, it appears the average

apartment for my needs is about $800. Groceries would be around $100 a week. Car pay-

ments typically run around $400 a month. I am grateful to not have any student loans I

will need to pay off. As far as gas and electricity, the average is around $200. Monthly

water bills appear to be $50. Cable is about $90 a month depending on the company. A

cell phone can run around $30 a month.

6. Summary of what you have learned in lecture and through the assignment with re-

gard to your personal finances. Outline what you have learned and how you plan to

50 Point Financial Assignment Dr. Lyles – Health and WellnessConnor Marshman

use this information going forward to secure your financial future. Please discuss 3

immediate ways you will take action now that will have an impact later.

Since I am still living with my parents, this exercise was eye-opening for me when con-

sidering how much costs go into just living expenses (i.e. electricity, groceries, car pay-

ments, insurance). I have taken for granted a lot of the modern amenities that cost

money. Next time I watch television, surf the internet, or drive in my car, I will be more

conscious of the finances that make all those things available to me. If anything, this

whole assignment makes clear to me that I am not currently capable of independent liv-

ing. As far as actions I can take now to better myself financially down the road, I am fo-

cused on getting optimum grades so that I can a good career, spending available money

on expenses rather than on possessions, and starting to save a little bit of money each

month in a savings account.