AFM Financial Literacy Unit Project

Name: Sample Student Project 3

www.afmfinance.weebly.com

http://www.unboxedthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/Personal-Finance.jpg

Use this table of contents page to navigate to different

sections of your project. Hover your mouse over the blue
writing and click the link that pops up below.
Module 1: Occupation
Module 2: College
Module 3: Paying for College
Module 4:Credit Cards
Module 5: Cars and Insurance
Module 6: Budgeting
Final Essay

Module 1: Occupation
You will be taking a career assessment. Once complete, select a career that you believe you
would enjoy after college graduation.
Using the box below, write a paragraph (at least 5 complete sentences) about why you
chose this specific career.
I chose my career because
I chose my career to be a marketing manager because it involves both my main interest of
business and art. You have to be realistic and creative to be a market manager and I think I
could do well in this career. The pay is good and its a stable job with a good amount of
annual job openings. In this career theres opportunities to advance and get higher in your job.
I think I could be really successful in this field.
Review: If 15 people are applying for 3 identical positions of your chosen career, how many
different ways can those three people be selected for that position?
Answer (and explain how you got your answer):
455 ways, since it's a combination and does not matter what order the people get the position,
I plugged in 15C3 in my calculator to get all the combinations.
Using your results from the career assessment, research the starting salary of your chosen
career. Complete the table below. You can use this website the help you in your salary search.
http://www1.salary.com/Entry-Level-Salaries.html
Make sure you indicate a STARTING SALARY not a median or upper level salary.
Chosen Career

marketing manager

Starting Income/ Gross Pay

$72,906

Calculating Taxes
Using the link below, read about the current federal income tax. Then you will write a piecewise
function to represent the 2015 federal income tax.
http://www.irs.com/articles/2015-federal-tax-rates-personal-exemptions-and-standarddeductions
To write the function, use the link https://awwapp.com/ to acces a white board. Do your best to
write neatly. Then, using the Snipping Tool (under programs in the microsoft button on the
bottom left of your screen) to take a picture of your equation. Copy and paste it below.

Paste piecewise function here (delete the picture below and insert yours)

Now, using your piecewise function, determine your federal income tax below. North Carolina
has a flat tax rate of 5.75%. Medicare and Social Security are also taxed at a flat rate. Complete
the table below. All taxes are calculated off your total annual salary.
Type of Tax

Amount

Federal Income Tax

(from piecewise function above)

14020.25

North Carolina Income Tax- 5.75%

4192.09

Social Security Tax- 6.2%

4520.17

Medicare- 1.45%

1057.13

Total Taxes Paid

23789.64

Using these tax rates, and what you learned using the IRS application, calculate your Net Pay.
Remember, net pay is your take-home pay (gross-pay less all taxes).You will use your net pay
later when calculating your living expenses.
Yearly Gross Salary
72906

Total Yearly Taxes

23789.64

Yearly Net Pay

49116.36

Monthly Net Pay

4093.03

After calculating your net pay, are you surprised by how much your actual take-home pay will
be? In 2-3 sentences, explain why or why not.
I was surprised by my take-home pay because I didnt think you have to pay that much
in taxes. I always thought it was only a couple thousand dollars out of my yearly gross

salary not almost half of my salary.

Module 2: College
For your career, you must attend college to earn either an associates, bachelors or masters
degree.
College Major
What is going to be your major at college?

business administration

How many years of

associates/undergraduate do you need for
this major?

4 years

How many years will you need to attend

post-graduate (masters/doctoral)
schooling for your degree?

I will not attend graduate school

Total years will you need to go to college?

4 years

College Choices
You will look at two different colleges that have the major you have chosen. Use
www.collegeboard.com to search for your school and find the information in the table below. It
may be necessary for you to use any other search engine to find missing information that is not
available on the College Board website. At least one of the colleges you research must be
in the state of North Carolina.
College/University Name

east carolina university

university of south carolina

At a Glance Tab
Total Undergrads

28,289

24,864

Average financial aid

package

9,178

9,411

In-State Tuition

15,899

11,158

Out-of-State Tuition

31,473

29,440

Type of School (summary

of school)

public, coed school

public, coed school

Majors and Learning Tab

Student to Faculty Ratio

18:1

18:1

3 most popular majors

health professions, business,

management

biology, experimental
psychology, business
administration

Is a master's program
offered at this school

yes

yes

Campus Life Tab (Under Student Body tab)

Top 3 race/ethnicity

white, african american,

hispanic

white, african american,

hispanic

Gender Ratio

59% female 41% male

45% female 55% male

Applying Tab (Under Whats Important tab)

List 3 things that the
college finds most
important in applicants

academic GPA, rigor of

secondary school record,
state residency

List 3 things that the

alumni relation, application
college finds less important essay, character/personal
in applicants
qualities

academic GPA, rigor of

secondary school record,
standardized test scores
alumni relation, application
essay, character/personal
qualities

Applying Tab (Under Academics and GPA tab) Part 1

Total Applicants

14,223

23,346

Admitted

10,992

15,174

Enrolled

4,226

4,975

Applying Tab (Under Academics and GPA tab) Part 2

What is your class rank?

247

Compare your high school

coursework to that of the
colleges. Are you on track?

yes, throughout high school I

have taken ap and honors
classes

yes, throughout high school I

have taken ap and honors
classes

Compare your high school

most freshman enrolled into
rank to those of incoming
ecu are in the top half of their
freshman. How do you fair? class

most freshman enrolled into

usc are in the top half of their
class

Top 10%

30%

13%

Top Quarter

40%

66%

Top Half

78%

94%

Bottom Half

22%

6%

What is your current GPA?

3.63

Does your current GPA get

you into this college?

yes

yes

GPA of 3.75

45%

79%

GPA of 3.5-3.74

17%

12%

GPA of 3.25-3.49

16%

6%

GPA of 3.0-3.24

13%

2%

GPA of 2.5-2.9

9%

1%

GPA of 2.0-2.49
Applying Tab (Under SAT and ACT Scores Tab)
What did you score on the
SAT/ACT?

haven't taken it yet

Percentage of students in
the same ACT score range
as you

haven't taken it yet

haven't taken it yet

Percentage of students in
the same SAT score range
as you

haven't taken it yet

haven't taken it yet

Paying Tab (Under Cost of Attendance)

*Make sure you look at the appropriate in-state vs. out-of-state tab
Tuition and Fees (On
Campus)

6,550

10,818

Tuition and Fees (Off

Campus)

6,550

10,818

Room and Board (On

Campus)

9,319

7,848

Room and Board (Off

Campus)

8,488

10,103

Books and Supplies (On

Campus)

1,234

1,600

Books and Supplies (Off

Campus)

1,234

1,600

On Campus Total for one

year (only from the
categories above)

17,103

23,673

Off Campus Total for one

year (only from the
categories above)

21,142

27,014

Based on the information that you have found, which college will you pick to attend. Write a
paragraph of at least five complete sentences explaining why you chose this college.
The college I chose and why I chose to go to East Carolina University for many
reasons, I meet all the requirements to be accepted into the freshman class. East
Carolina University is in North Carolina so I will be able to have in state tuition which is
affordable compared to many other colleges. One of East Carolinas biggest majors is
business which I am going there for, I think this school has great resources for me to
strive in my major.

Module 3: Paying for College

After reading the article "Congratulations, Class of 2015 you're the most indebted ever for now",
what new perspectives do you have on college loans and paying for college? Write a paragraph
of at least five complete sentences.
Write your paragraph here
I have a totally new perspective on paying for college now. I thought before this project
that only a small amount of people had to apply and use student loans. I never
imagined college tuition cost this much. In the article it talks about how many students
are now having debt and paying student loans long after they have graduated.
Education costs are going up and opportunities for grants and scholarships aren't
increasing as fast.

Refer back to modules 1 and 2 to fill in the chart below. You will use this chart to determine the
amount of debt you will have upon graduation and what your monthly payment will be.
Starting Income/Gross Pay for your
chosen career

72,906

Total cost to attend your chosen college

ON CAMPUS for one year

17,103

Total cost to attend your chosen college

OFF CAMPUS for one year

21,142

Do you need graduate school? If so, how

many years?

no

How much does each year of graduate

school cost at your chosen university?
Next, you will calculate your total debt for college. We will assume years 1-2 you will be living
ON CAMPUS and years 3-4 you are living OFF CAMPUS. Use the tuition you calculated in
the table above accordingly. We will also assume that you will only be using unsubsidized
loans to pay for 50% of your tuition each year (including graduate school if applicable). If you
are attending graduate school, you must include this in your calculations.
We will use the College Board loan repayment calculator to help us determine the total debt and
monthly payment. Make sure you follow these directions carefully:

Go to https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/loans/student-loan-calculator to
access the calculator
Enter the year you intend to graduate from college (enter the year you plan to graduate
from grad school if this applies to you and your chosen career)
Enter your starting annual salary after graduation
Scroll down to Other Loans. We will be using this section because we are assuming
50% of our loans will be unsubsidized.
Enter the amounts you found for years 1-2 assuming ON CAMPUS expenses
Enter the amounts you found for years 3-4 assuming OFF CAMPUS expenses
Enter graduate schools amounts as needed
DO NOT change the rate listed
Press Calculate

You may be surprised at what you will be paying to attend college. Fill in the chart below with
your calculations.
Principle you have borrowed or expect to
borrow

24000

Total interest to be repaid

9143

Total amount of principal to be repaid

33143

Monthly repayment

276

You may be shocked to see how much you will have to repay each month. Keep that in mind,
you only calculated how much you would have to repay if you only had to get a loan for 50% of
your college tuition. Does this make you want to start saving some, or applying for scholarships
and grants, or thanking your parents or family members for any generous contributions they
may make to your college fund? We will be using your monthly repayment when calculating a
budget later. You also should know that this loan repayment option is for 10 years postgraduation; or 120 months. That means many of you may be repaying your college loans well
into your 30s.
In the box below, share your thoughts about paying for college. Include any thoughts you had
before doing this part of the project, and any feelings you may be having now about paying for
college. Write a paragraph using at least 5 complete sentences.
My thoughts about paying for college
I never imagined my education would cost this much. Now seeing how much it truly is I have
gotten a lot of motivation to improve my grades and apply for grants and scholarships. I also
plan to start putting money from my paychecks into a savings account to help pay for college.
I want to help my family as much as I can to pay for college. I dont want a huge amounts of
student loans haunting me long after I graduate.

Module 4:Credit Cards

After completing the It Cost What? activity, write a paragraph summary of anything you found
interesting in the investigation. Include one take-away that you learned that will help you in
choosing a credit card to use and how you will use it.
Write your summary here.
I thought it was interesting in case file 3, Maria had enough money to buy the stereo she
wanted without using a credit card. She used a credit card because she will establish good
credit in the future since she payed the full bill on time without any problems or interest fees. I
think this is a very smart idea and I plan to do this in when I get my credit card.
Do you remember calculating compound interest in Unit 4: Logarithms and Exponents? Use
what you learned in that unit to answer the following question.
Problem: Youve just graduated from high school and the first credit card that you got charges
12.49% interest to its customers and compounds that interest monthly. Within one day of getting
your first credit card, you max out the credit limit by spending $1,200.00. If you do not buy
anything else on the card and you do not make any payments, how much money would you
owe the company after 6 months?
I would like you to show your work in completing this problem. To do so, use the link
https://awwapp.com/ to acces a white board. Do your best to write neatly. Then, using the
Snipping Tool (under programs in the microsoft button on the bottom left of your screen) to
take a picture of your work. Copy and paste it below.
Paste work for completing the problem here

Now, its time for you to make a big purchase using a credit card! Your purchase must be at
least $2000 or more. We will assume you make this purchase your first day of college. Take a
few minutes to research what you want to you would like to purchase. In detail, describe your
purchase below. Make sure to include total cost.
My purchase was (describe)

Apple Macbook Pro laptop 15.4

Total cost

2,349.99

Now, you need to research two different credit cards and different aspects of each card.
Complete the chart below.
Card 1

Card 2

Card Name

Citi Thankyou preferred card

for college students

Chase Freedom credit card

Company Name

Citi

Chase

Website used to find

information

https://www.citi.com/creditcards/credit-carddetails/citi.action?ID=citithankyou-preferred-creditcards-for-college-students

https://creditcards.chase.com
/credit-cards/chasefreedom.aspx

Annual fee (if any)

none

none

Grace Period

23 days

21 days

Annual Percentage Rate

(APR)

14.24%-24.24%

0% for the first 15 billing

cycles, after that 13.99%22.99% based on your
creditworthiness

Finance Charge Calculation

Method

daily balance (including

current transactions

daily balance method

Credit Limit

variable depending on credit

profile of applicant

variable depending on credit

profile of applicant

Minimum Payment

depending on apr and posted

balances during statement
cycle

depending on apr and posted

balances during statement
cycle

Other fees: (Late payment

etc.)

late payment- up to $35

late payment- up to $15 if the

billing is under $100, up to
$27 is between $100-$250,
and up to $37 if above $250

Any other important

features?

bonus points dont expire ,

you can earn 2,500 bonus
points by spending $500
within the first 3 months

Now, using what youve learned about credit cards, pick which card you will use to make your
$2000+ purchase. Explain why you chose this card.
Card Chosen

Citi Thankyou preferred card for college

students

Explain (3 or more complete sentences)

I chose the Citi credit card for many reasons.

It has a longer grace period than most credit
cards I have looked at. Its for college students
which is the best fit for me. Another reason I
chose this credit card is because it only
charges you interest if you dont make your
payment at the due date.

Now, go back to www.afmfinance.weebly.com and in Module 4: Credit Cards you will find a link
to a credit card payoff calculator. Download it and use your specific information to complete the
table below.
First payment

155.18

Months to payoff

54

Total Interest

690.68

Total Cost (total interest + initial cost)

3,040.67

If your credit card is not paid off by the time you graduate, you must add in your monthly
payment to your budget in module 6.
Now that you have done some calculating, how do you feel about credit cards? In the box
below, share your thoughts and feelings. Also share decisions you could make to prevent the
extra cost of interest. You should write at least 4 complete sentences.
My thoughts on credit cards
I never knew how bad credit cards actually are until this project. I see now all the ways credit
card companies real you in and trick you into spending more money. They use things like
cashback and bonus points to trick you into thinking its okay to spend more money. When I
do get a real credit card I will stay on top of the payments and keep track of the billing cycles
to avoid paying interest. I will not spend money on things I dont need and will always have
enough money to pay my bill at the due date.

After watching the video on ways to build credit, fill in the box below with three ways that are
good for you to use to build your credit in college.
Three healthy ways I can build my credit in college
1. make sure everything you put your social security number on is fair game
2. get a secure card
3. join with a parent so they can monitor your spending
4. join a credit union while in college

Module 5: Cars and Insurance

Choose your (dream? practical?) car
Using the internet, search for a car (in the Raleigh area) that you would like to purchase. The
car can be new or used, but it must be listed on a website.
Car Make, Model and Year

2003 honda civic Ex

Cost of Car

$5,650

Website where car was found

cars.com

New or Used?

used

Why did you choose new or used?

(Complete sentence here)

I chose to go with a used car because it was

more practical with the cost and used cars
can be as good for their money as any new
car would be

Miles on Car (if used)

109,352

City MPG

32

Highway MPG

38

Average MPG

35

Manual or Automatic

automatic

Other Specific Features of your car

Paste picture of car below

Explain why you chose this car below (at least 3 complete sentences)
I chose this car because
I chose this car because it was a nice sized car for a girl just graduated college. Its practical
for the cost and is in good condition. I chose to go with a honda because hondas are good
cars and last for awhile, so Ive been told.
Monthly Car Payments
Since this is the very first car you will ever own you do not have a car to trade in. You do know
that if you put a downpayment of 10% of your car, then you will get an interest rate of 4%, but if
you do not put a down payment down on your car you will get a 5.3% interest rate for your loan.
You will determine the monthly cost and total cost using both scenarios. You will be able to
change the amount of your monthly payment based on the length of your loan (the length of the
loan must be in whole years, converted to months). So using the price for your car, determine
the amount of your monthly payment based on the length of the loan, the total amount that you
will pay for the car and the total amount of interest that you will have to pay.

After you have done this you must choose the payment plan that you believe would be best for
you remembering you have other bills throughout the month to still pay for other than your car
payments.
Loan Payment Calculator
Car payments with a 10%
down payment (4%
Interest)

Car payments with no

down payment (5.3%
interest)

Original cost of the car

5,650

5,650

Down payment amount

565

none

Monthly car payment over

3 years

150.13

170.10

Monthly car payment over

4 years

114.81

130.88

Monthly car payment over

5 years

93.65

107.40

Monthly car payment over

6 years

79.56

91.78

Total amount you will

eventually pay for your
car

for 6 years
11,378.01

for 6 years
12,258.25

Total amount of interest

you will pay on your loan

for 6 years
5728.01

for 6 years
6608.25

Now, since you will be a new college graduate, you will NOT have a down payment available to
use. So, chose the number of years you will finance your car for and complete the table below.
You may need to go back to the calculator to see your total amount paid.
Years you will finance for

6 years

Monthly car payment

91.78

Total amount you will pay for the car

12,258.25

Total amount of interest you will pay on

your loan (Total amount-original price of

6608.25

car)
Did you expect to be paying that much over time? This is why saving money for down payments
is so important. Reflect of this activity and the changes in cost when you change the number of
years financed. In the box below, write at least three complete sentences on your reflection.
My reflection on financing a car
I never expected I would have to pay so much for a loan. I have to pay double the amount of
the value of the car. I see how it important it is to save money and be smart about a the down
payment and what a good difference it makes. When adding more years to finance your car
the monthly payment goes down but the interest you have to pay increases.
Car Insurance
Now its time to find car insurance. Pick any two insurance companies that offer free quotes.
Insurance Company

Progressive

Geico

Total Amount for one

month

70.65

59.99

Total Amount for six

months

282.60

347.81

Total Amount for one year

847.80

719.88

Deductible amount

500

500

Which company will you choose?

Company Name

Geico

Monthly Cost

59.99

Why you chose this company (at least one

complete sentence)

It gives me the most coverage and best

deductible for the lowest price.

Module 6: Budgeting
You will be creating a budget after researching different parts of your future life. Make sure to be
thorough in this section. You cannot simply create a cost that you think you will spend. You
need to research each category to come up with a legitimate cost that you can expect to pay.
For instance, if you plan to rent an apartment, you should research the cost online or call the
complex to find out monthly rent. Does your complex include any of your utility payments? Make
sure you are detailed in your research. You will be sharing where or how you found the
information and numbers you used in your tables. You may not leave out any categories in the
fixed expenses part of your budget, but you may add extra categories you may need (for
instance, pets, travel etc). Complete all the information below and then transfer your information
to the budget below.
Apartment/Home Rental Information
Research an apartment or rental home in an area in which you would like to live. You cannot
live with your parents, but you can have at most one roommate to split the rent. You may need
to call complexes or landlords to get the information you need. Complete the table below with
the necessary information.
Name

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/RaleighNC/townhouse_type/2106741246_zpid/54047_rid/0242355_price/0-900_mp/36.069915,78.266945,35.659249,78.987923_rect/10_zm/2_p/?3col=true

Address

4712 Hollowell Ln APT B Raleigh, NC 27614

Will you have a roommate?

yes

Total Monthly Rent

$895

Individual Monthly Rent (if

you have a roommate)

447.50

Square Feet

1050 sq ft

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms

Utilities Included

dishwasher, garbage disposal, refrigerator washer and

dryer, stove, microwave

Community Amenities

parking, pool

Other information

townhouse were renovated recently

Paste at least 3 pictures of the apartment below

Food (Groceries)
The table below uses information compiled by the USDA on average costs of monthly groceries.
Pick which type of grocery shopping you will do (low cost, moderate cost or liberal plan) based

on your normal food intake now. You cannot use the Thrifty Plan as that plan is based off of
a food stamp type program for low income families. Choose your appropriate age group and
gender as well.

http://www.loweryourspending.com/image/averagecostoffoodfor1monthlyMar15.png

Food plan I chose

low cost plan

Cost per month

251.04

Electricity
To calculate your monthly electric bill, you will be using an electric bill calculator found on the
project website www.afmfinance.weebly.com under Module 6: Budgeting. Only fill in the
highlighted column with the number of each item you will have. Transfer your information into
the table below.
Item

Quantity

Cost/Month

Refrigerator

16.38

Freezer

17.10

Dishwasher

5.40

Oven

9.36

Microwave

1.44

Coffee Maker

Stereo

.45

2.39

Laundry (in quantity put

loads/week)

2.43

Lighting (in quantity put #

of rooms in your home)

5.40

Ceiling Fan

22.95

Computer

1.58

$20.82

$20.82

TV 19"
TV 25"
TV 35"

Basic Facilities Charges

Total Monthly Bill

105.70

Cell Phone Payment

Monthly phone payments can be expensive. Explore different providers and find a plan that best
suits you. You must have data and text messages included in your plan.
Cell Phone Payment
Company

T- mobile

Type of Plan

simple choice plan

Total monthly data allowance

2GB

Total monthly minutes

unlimited

Total monthly text messages

unlimited

Cost of plan monthly

$50 a month

Cable and Internet

Internet will be an essential expense needed for a variety of reasons in your home. Most of you
will also feel like you NEED to have cable. Research several cable and internet providers in the
area where your home is located and decide which one you will use and add it to your monthly
budget.
Cable and Internet

Provider

xfinity (digital starter and performance

package)

What is included? (Speed of internet, type

of cable package, do you have DVR? How
many receivers?...be specific!)

internet- 25 msp, 140 tv channels, comes with

one receiver for living room, able to record tv
shows and order movies

Total Monthly Cost

79.99

Fuel and Car Maintenance

Cars cost more than monthly payments and insurance. You will need to calculate your monthly
cost to own a car. Since you do not know your place of employment, we will assume you drive
15 miles one way to work each day.
Fuel Cost
1

Round Trip Miles to work per day

30

Days worked in a month

20

Extra weekend miles per month

300

Total Miles in a month driven (row 1 multiplied by

row 2; add row 3)

900

Average cost per gallon of gas

$2.75

Your cars average mpg

35

Cost to drive your car per mile (row 5 divided by

row 6)

$0.08 per mile

Cost for fuel monthly (row 4 multiplied by row 7)

72

You also need to consider the cost to maintain your car. Every year you will pay taxes on your
vehicle to the state you live in. Using the calculator below, calculate your yearly car tax based
on the purchase price of your car.
Car Tax Estimator
We will also assume that your car needs the average amount of maintenance each year. You
will need to budget for this monthly. Assume that your car needs 0.78% of your gross income in
maintenance each year. Once you calculate this amount, you will need to find the monthly
amount by dividing by 12.
Extra Car Costs

Car Tax Per Year (From link above)

82.44

Car Tax Per Month

6.87

Annual Car Maintenance (0.78% of gross

income)

568.66

Monthly Car Maintenance

47.38

Total Monthly Car Maintenance Cost

(monthly car tax plus monthly car
maintenance)

54.25

Compiling your Monthly Budget

Monthly Budget (all numbers should be monthly amounts)
Category

Cost

Monthly Net Pay

4093.03

Notes

Fixed Expenses
Rent

447.50

College Loan Repayment

276.00

Remember this is half of the

total if you have a roommate

Credit Card Payment

Car Payment

91.78

Car Insurance

59.99

Food (Groceries)

251.04

Phone

50.00

Cable and Internet

39.99

Remember this is half of the

total if you have a roommate

Electricity

52.85

Remember this is half of the

total if you have a roommate.
If your rent includes this put
$0.00

Water

0.00

If your rent does not include

water put $40.00 here (or half
if you have a roommate)

If your rent does include

water, put $0.00 here
Fuel

72.00

Extra Car Costs

54.25

Remaining Amount for

Discretionary Expenses

2697.63

You must have enough

money to complete all
categories in this section

Discretionary Expenses
In the notes column here, explain how you came up with the numbers you used in each
expense. One to two sentences are necessary for each item. You should use information you
researched to find average costs. Include any websites used to help you come up with an
amount.
Entertainment

$300

Clothing

$500

Vacation

$300

Extra (pets, hobbies, etc)

$150

Remaining amount for

Savings

1447.63

I will use this money to buy

food and other supplies for
my small dog

Savings
Emergency Fund

200

Retirement

650

House Down Payment

597.63

Final Remaining Amount

0.00

At least $100 here

Good budgets do not leave

any money unaccounted for.
Distribute all of your monthly
budget in the categories
above. Any extra may be best
used in anything in the
savings section.

Final Essay
So, what does this all mean to you? In this final section you will write about what youve learned
and experienced in this unit. You should include thoughts you had about finance before you
began, thoughts you had during the project, and thoughts you had after completing the project. I
want this to be an opportunity for you to be honest with yourself about what you may need to be
considering now as you near graduation from high school. The essay must be at least 1.5
pages typed in the box below, single spaced, 11 point Arial font. Check your spelling and
grammar errors when you are done.
Final Essay

I am so thankful I did this project. I was completely clueless when it came to

finances, debt, bills, loans,and basically everything else we learned in this unit. Before
this project I didn't realize how much money college really was and all the little
expenses you had to pay for. I didn't think credit was that big of a deal and I wasn't
aware of all the tricks and loopholes credit card companies use to swindle in college
students. I had no knowledge on how much money would have been taken out of my
monthly paycheck just for taxes. It took almost half of my paycheck which makes an
outstanding difference on how much money I can spend on other things. There's so
many working parts to have a smoothly running household, good credit, and no debt
that I just wasnt aware of.
While I was working on this project I was shocked and quite frankly very scared and
nervous for the future. Going from high school where everything is so much easier and
to the most part taken care for you then off to college where you have to be
independent and on your own is a very scary thing to think about. While doing this
project I was surprised I had to pay so many bills and some I honestly didn't even know
existed that people had to actually pay for. My parents talk to me about when I get into
the real world things won't be handed to you and you'll have to work for all your
things, as most teenagers would I let it go in one ear and out the other thinking they
were exaggerating the whole thing. I was in for a rude awakening while doing this
project. I was shocked on how truthful they really were to me.
I went into this unit thinking only a small amount of people going to college would
have to apply for student loans. I had no idea over of college students are in college
with student loans. It never occurred to me how much college really was and to come
with it all the small fees for boarding, books, etc you will have to pay for. Being a junior
in high school the college pressure has finally set it. With this project it gave me such a
better outlook on what I need to start doing to prepare myself for college. I plan to help
my family and pay as much as I can for my education. The amount of college graduates
coming out of college with outstanding numbers of student loans is increasing every
year and with that said the amount of scholarships

and grants aren't increasing as fast. I am now planning to apply for as many
scholarships as I can. I also plan on making a savings account and putting away
money every now and then for college expenses. I am incredibly thankful for all my
family has done and sacrificed for me and I want to do as much as I can to help with
affording my education.
I learned many tips and tricks to save money while doing this project. On one
exercise I did, a girl even though she saved enough money to buy an expensive stereo
on her own with no credit, she used a credit card anyway because she would build
good credit since she payed the amount on time with no interest rates or late fees. I
learned it is very important to build good credit especially in college. You will need
good credit later in life when you plan to buy bigger more expensive purchases like
houses and car. In college it's very easy to destroy your credit with so many
companies coming at you trying to pull you in. SInce I know how important it is for me
to have good credit I will only have one credit card during and after college for
emergencies. I don't want to have all these credit card bills and loans following me
around for the rest of my life.
I think high schools should give a project like this to students senior year as well
since they're about to leave and go off to college. When I finished this project I was just
so surprised and speechless on how clueless I was on these important topics. This
project really shows us how the things we do when we are young somehow affect us in
the long run. If it wasn't for this project I think I and many of my classmates would have
no idea what we were in store for. I think this unit is one of the most important units I
have ever learned out of all my school years. I think highschool should put more of a
spotlight on this topic since many high schoolers are clueless to these type of
subjects.
This time of my life is one of the most important times of my life. I am molding my
future. Since doing this project I have sat down and really thought about how critical
highschool and college is for the rest of my life. You need to be careful with your
money and make smart decisions. Just because I want the brand new dream car I've
always wanted doesn't mean I need to buy it. Since I'll just be staring off my career I
can't always buy the most expensive things I want. I need to save money, be practical. I
learned the nice flat screen television that you want so bad isn't worth all the credit
card bills and interest you will be drowned in trying to pay for it.
Doing this project opened my eyes and gave me a fresh look on my future that I
really needed. I have learned so many important things that are going to prepare me for
college life and life into early adulthood. I will have this knowledge for the rest of my
life. A sigh of release has come from this unit, I now know what to expect when I
venture out to college and on my own.