This document provides instructions for tracking spending and creating a budget. Students are asked to track every purchase for one month, recording the date, amount, and business. They should also note what each expense was for. The instructions also describe how to set savings goals and categorize expenses as fixed or variable. Students will then create a budget by summing income, savings, and expenses and ensuring expenses and savings do not exceed income. They will write a reaction report reflecting on their spending habits and a graphical report displaying their budget and expenses in graphs or charts.

1. Last Name, First Name
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Assignment 1: Tracking Your Spending and Budgeting Exercise
Beginning today, track every time you make a purchase with
cash, credit, debit, check, etc.
· Do not distinguish between credit or money from your bank
account, just keep a record of every dollar that leaves your
hands.
· Accept receipts or ask for them if they are not offered.
· Record at a minimum the date, amount spent, and the name of
the business.
· It may be helpful to add additional information, such as what
the expense was for, in cases where a business caters to
multiple needs. This will be helpful when it comes time to
generate your reports.
· For example: Shopping at Walmart could mean you bought gas
for your car, groceries, take out Chinese food, or bathroom
supplies.
· You may also use Apps/services that are designed for expense
tracking such as Mint.com. But, if you use a service like that,
you should review receipts daily with what the service has
recorded, and update fields such as notes/categories to ensure
accuracy of your report. Extra care will be needed to track cash
expenses too.
· Create a budget utilizing the following instructions.
· Income:
· List all sources of income in a regular month and the amount
of money you expect to receive. Examples include: Job wages,
Interest & dividends, parental allowance, etc.
· Savings:
· If you save on a regular monthly basis, use the value you set
aside during a regular month.
· If you do not save on a regular monthly basis, leave your

2. saving amount as zero.
· Everyone will Establish 5 savings goals you would like to
attain, including: an Emergency Savings fund of 3 – 6 months of
monthly expenses, a Revolving Savings plan, and 3 other
options of your choice. These should be in terms of dollars
saved per month. Do not include these in the budget
calculations, just put some ideas on paper and work out: what is
it, how much does it cost, when do you want it, and how much
would you need to save each month to reach your goal.
· Emergency Savings: This is the sum of your living expenses
on a monthly basis multiplied by a number between 3 and 6.
This gives you the total amount you should have saved in a
liquid account that is strictly used for emergencies.
· Revolving Savings: Revolving savings is for recurring but
irregular expenses, such as birthdays, car registrations,
holidays, home maintenance, etc. To calculate the revolving
savings amount, figure out the total that will be spent on these
types of purchases throughout the year, then divide that by 12.
· Example of another savings goal: If you wanted to save for
graduation trip to Europe, you may estimate that it would cost
you $3,500, and, if you have 3 years left in school, then you
have 36 months. Divide $3,500 by 36mo to get your monthly
saving amount of $97.23.
· Be realistic with your planning.
· Expenses:
· Fixed: These are the expenses that don’t fluctuate on a
monthly basis. Examples include: rent, car payment, insurance
payments, subscriptions (Netflix, Pandora, etc.), and loans. List
your fixed expenses, and how much they cost each month.
· Variable: These are expenses that change from month-to-
month due to how much you choose to use them. Examples
include: Eating out, entertainment, utilities (if not on a fixed
payment plan), credit card payments, and gasoline. List what
you think your variable expenses are, and how much you expect
to spend on them in a month.
· Budget:

3. · Sum up all sources of income.
· Sum up all savings amounts (only the ones you are actually
working toward)
· Sum up all expenses.
· Subtract Savings and Expenses from Income.
· Ideally, the budget should have a $0.00 or positive value after
all expenses and savings are deducted from income. The golden
rule is “Give every dollar a job” or “Spend every dollar on
paper first”, meaning don’t leave any income unaccounted for
by expenses or savings goals. Go into each month with a full
plan of how every dollar will be spent.
Reaction Report (15pts) for [proper formatting, grammar,
length, thoughtfulness of answers]:
· This report will consist of a 2 pages,double spaced, Times
New Roman 12 font, reaction to the evaluation of your spending
habits and budgeting experience.
· Answer these questions: What technique did you use to track
your expenses? （Use Mint.com to track spending and
budgeting）What did you discover? Were you surprised
(why/why not)? What trends stand out? What were your
expectations? Will this exercise influence your future behavior
(why/why not)? How do you think this compares to the average
college student?
· What the experience was like sitting down thinking about your
spending habits and categorizing them in such a way. Did
anything surprise you? What are some challenges you might
anticipate when trying to help another person develop a budget
for the first time? If your budget was negative, figure out what
you can do to bring it out of the red. Can you reduce any
expenses? Can you increase your income in any way? Suggest
realistic changes that would allow you to live within your
means and are feasible.
· Offer any additional musings you may have about this
exercise.
Graphical Report (10pts) for [proper content, neatness, clarity]:

4. · This should have budget worksheet and lists of individual
expenses, categorized by groups such as food, gas, medical, etc.
with date and amount spent.
· In addition there should be some form of graphical
representation, in the form of a pie chart, bar graph, or both
with keys, representing the data in the lists.
· This should be on its own page, separate from the Reaction
Report.
***
Graphical Report
Example Pie Chart
Example List
Food
Date
Description
Amount
1-Sep
Groceries
50
3-Sep
Snack
3.25
5-Sep
Eating out
8.75

5. 6-Sep
Snack
2.5
7-Sep
Snack
2.5
15-Sep
Snack
4.95
17-Sep
Groceries
18.05
20-Sep
Eating out
11.25
20-Sep
Coffee
4.75
25-Sep
Snack
3.5
26-Sep
Coffee
4.5
27-Sep
Groceries
36