Spending Reflection and Goals Assignment -Personal Finance | HDFS 238, Study notes of Business Finance

Download Spending Reflection and Goals Assignment -Personal Finance | HDFS 238 and more Study notes Business Finance in PDF only on Docsity! HDFS 238 Personal Finance Spending Reflection and Goals Assignment Assignment Due: October 6, 2011 Background Rationale: - Writing your personal financial goals will help you take control of your money. - The way you spend money is a reflection of who you are as a money manager. - Matching your goals to the way you spend your money will help you develop an effective spending plan for your future. Part One: Goal Statements - Develop one Short-term, Intermediate-term, AND Long-term goal using the SMART goal format (see attached chart) for money you earn OR hope to earn in the future. - You MUST use the SMART attached chart to complete this assignment. (Responses should be typed on the chart.) (For additional reference, please refer to class notes and pages 85 - 86 of the text.) As a reminder, SMART stands for: Specific; Measurable; Attainable; Realistic; and Time-Bound. Goals are defined as: Short-term goals = one year or less; Intermediate-term goals = 1 - 5 years in length; Long-term goals are to be met over 5 years from now. Part Two: Tracking Your Expenses and Reflection Chart your expenses from September 9, 2011(Friday) to September 29, 2011 (Thursday). Chart ALL financial transactions including cash, debit, bills, checking account, etc. that you control. This will be your record of your transactions. Do NOT turn in your record with the paper. The assignment is your responses to the following sets of questions. Analysis: You documented your expenses for 3 weeks from September 9, 2011 to September 29, 2011. In response to your record of transactions, please answer the following questions. 1) What did you learn about the types of purchases you make? Was there a pattern that emerged? 2) What surprised you about your spending habits? (If there weren’t any surprises, why do you think that was the case?) 1 3) If the way you spend your money is a reflection of who you are, describe who you are financially. Part Three: Analysis and Reflection Answer the following two questions after tracking your expenses. 1) After tracking your expenses, revisit the goals you developed in part one. Are there any changes/adaptations you need to make in how you spend your money to reach your goals effectively? If so, what are these adaptations? If not, why do you think that is? 2) Can you successfully reach your goals in the amount of time allocated OR do you need to adapt your goals based on how you spend your money? To complete this assignment, you must turn in the following: - Part One: Completely fill out the attached SMART chart to describe your goals. - Part Two and Three: 1-2 typewritten, double spaced pages, 12 point font. 2 Long Term Goal: (Greater than five years) Pay off student loans in 20 years or fewer. Specific (Be specific as possible: Answer who, what, when, why, where, etc) I want to pay off my student loans as soon as possible so I don’t have to pay as much interest by saving a little of my paycheck every time I get paid. Measurable (How much $ do you need? Provide weekly/monthly amounts needed to accomplish goals.) I will need an amount somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000. This means I need to save around $400 per month for 20 years in order to pay off my loans. Attainable (Can this be accomplished in the time allotted? How?) This goal is attainable if I get the job I want out of college and start making a good income my very first year. Realistic (Can this realistically occur given your life commitments? How is this goal relevant to your life?) This is realistic as long as I stay focused on my goals and succeed in my field of work. This goal is relevant to my life because once I pay off my student loans, I won’t have to worry about them anymore and can save for retirement. Timely/Time-Bound (When will you achieve this goal? Provide date.) I hope to achieve this goal in 20 years or fewer after I get out of college, so that would mean in the year 2036. Using the format above, please restate your goals: My Short Term Goal is: Make a trip to Cedar Point this summer for the first time. My Intermediate Term Goal is: Take a Spring Break trip to Cancun, Mexico. My Long Term Goal is: Pay off my student loans in 20 years or less. 5 HDFS 238 Personal Finance Sample Spending Log Week 1 September 9-15 What did you buy? When did you buy the item? How much did you spend? Total Spent for Week 6 HDFS 238 Personal Finance Sample Spending Log Week 2 September 16 - 22 What did you buy? When did you buy the item? How much did you spend? Total Spent for Week 7