Budgets

= ** Living Within Your Means WebQuest ** = = =

=**Introduction **=

How in the world are you going to make it on your own? The thought is scary at times. You have made the decision to finally move out and live on your own. What will you do now? You will use the internet to gather information to make your move successful. This will help you plan the amount of time, money and experience you will need to achieve your goals of independence.

=**The Task **= = = = =

The requirements for your budget is fairly simple to understand. I want you to use the Internet to gather information on job resources, apartments, education and financial planning. There are specific guidelines for your budget which we will get to later, but the important thing is that you plan your budget as realistically as possible, and that you take care of the details. Your findings should include, but are not limited to:


 * Job
 * Education
 * Budget
 * Monthly Income
 * Monthly Expenses
 * Savings!!!

= **The Process ** =

You must choose a job that is within your qualifications. Apartment and transportation expense must be within your working budget. This means that the budget must be realistic, income must be greater than or equal to your expenses, never the reverse! Use the spending guidelines below to help balance your budget.
 * Find a Job- has to be within your qualifications
 * Find transportation - gasoline, repairs, maintenance. Will you have an auto payment?
 * Find a place to live - be realistice with rent amount. How far will you travel to your job?
 * Create a balanced budget
 * Decide if you will further your education. That will be your expense, not your employers.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Make note of your resources on the Web. Put on a Google Doc and in your class folder.



=[|BUDGET ORGANIZER]= Use this organizer to help you plan your budget. DO NOT use the $500 income, break-even, or savings amount. Use your personal amounts. Copy and paste onto a document if you want - or create your own organizer.

= **<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Evaluation ** = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Your progress will be determined upon your ability to carry out the tasks above successfully and realistically. Your ability to function in the "real world" will be assessed by the depth of your results in your budget. The object is to be as real to life as possible, where you can actually use this plan later in life if you choose. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">1 ||~ <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Developing <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 ||~ <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Accomplished <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">3 ||~ <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Exemplary <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">4 ||~ <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Score ||
 * ~  ||~ <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Beginning
 * Ability to find a place to live within your budget || You have decided on suitable places to live within your budget. || You have searched the Internet for suitable places to live in the community within your budget. || You have found your dream apartment that's within your budget and you're ready to move in. || You have rented your apartment and balanced your budget well enough with money left over for utilities and food. ||  ||
 * Ability to create and use a balanced budget || You have constructed a graph or plan for your budget that is realistic. || You have prepared a budget using your projected income from your new job. || You have prepared a realistic budget with information that includes your income and expenses in detail. || You have created a budget plan that allows you to live within your means and have money available for savings. ||  ||

 = **<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Conclusion ** =



 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Here are some links to resources that might be useful in your search. Any web sites that you find that are suitable for this assignment can be submitted via email for the use of future students. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">[|Publix] [|Jobs online] [|What are you worth] [|Apartments] [|Online Banking] [|Salary.com]
 * <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Credits & References **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">http://www.cfcministry.org http://www.personalbudgeting.com/sample.html http://school.discovery.com/clipart/index.html http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/k12db/ http://www.humanitees.com/ http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu - Hurwitz, Jane. High performance through effective budgeting, 1st ed., Pub. New York : Rosen Pub. Group, 1996 WebCT Sunshine State Standards