Your Family Monthly Budget

What is a family budget? ______

Why is it useful? ______

Your (imaginary) family’s monthly NET income: ______

Category Cost Balance Housing Food Utilities Car Insurance Gasoline

Monthly Savings: 0 Everyone has the following family: themselves, a spouse and two children (one 13 years old, one 11 years old). Your monthly income reflects you and your spouse’s wages together. Everyone starts with the following things: living room furniture, basic furniture for each bedroom (a bed, a table, a desk), basic kitchen equipment (enough to cook whatever you may want, but nothing fancy), basic clothes (enough to have a different outfit once a day for 10 days, though no designer or name-brand clothes), kids in public school, no cell phones, a small television, no computer. You have no car (you have to buy one and make room for it in your budget). Your children have 50 books apiece, but no televisions, video games, or extra toys. Everything else, you need to buy and budget for yourself.

After completing the required sections (that are already listed on the budget table), you may add as many extra categories as you like (for example: eating out, movies, clothing, entertainment, a private school education for your children, etc.) The only limit is that you must not exceed your monthly income! Remember, if you want to do something, it’s important to plan for it in your budget. Do you like to travel? Save money for it in your budget? Do you like to go to the movies, eat out, etc. etc.? You should think about how much you want to spend for each thing.

For each of the “required” categories, there are some instructions below:

Housing: You must use either the published rent for your apartment or the monthly mortgage payment that your mortgage calculator showed you. You must include either a copy of the advertised rent or the printout of the mortgage calculator. Food: You need to enter in the amount you found for your monthly food budget after your teacher has signed it! Utilities: Utilities are gas, electricity, water, telephone usage, internet services, garbage pickup, sewer services, etc. Your teacher will assign you a monthly utilities price based on the type of house you choose. (Bigger house = bigger utilities bill!) Car: Enter in the monthly payment for your car. You must include a copy of the advertised lease or the advertisement for your car purchase! Insurance: Once you have found your car, follow the instructions on finding an insurance policy. Put the monthly premium in the slot for insurance. Gasoline: Your teacher will assign you a monthly gasoline expense based on your car. (Bigger car = higher gasoline costs!)