Budget Project Mini-Course

Course free! Simply complete cart checkout for $0.00.

This project is designed for high school or college students, who may have never considered the expenses of living on their own, and can be completed by spending an average of about an hour for each of the thirteen units. However some weeks will require more time and some less than others for the research.

If you are also enrolled in Boundary Stone’s Basic Economics Course, one day of most weeks is set aside for working on this project.

There are three versions of the spreadsheet:

• Excel (this version can also be used in Google Sheets, their free software),
• Numbers (Mac software version),
• and a PDF version if you want to use pencil and paper instead.

The spreadsheets are set up to insert two income levels—one annual salary and one hourly rate—in order to demonstrate the difference that income level can make in lifestyle choices. The suggested amounts are $25,000 for the salary and minimum wage for the hourly rate, but different amounts can be used if desired.

In each Unit one category of income or expenses will be examined and decisions made for how much income to budget for that area. The student is encouraged to develop a computer document or a notebook with thorough notes on all their research, documenting the sources of information used because they may want to go back to some information once the spreadsheet is more complete. A final two page paper is suggested to discuss what was learned.