03/19 (SYNCH): PMB Step 10 - Presentation

Today you will turn your Personal Monthly Budget into a Google Slides Presentation.

PMB SAMPLE Q3 TFDL2021 (Click Here)

You must open Google Drive and CREATE a new Presentation. Label your new presentation "PMB (Your Last Name) Q3 TFDL2021".

All Items in your Personal Monthly Budget must be presented. See the following list of Items to Add to your Presentation:

• Introduction Slide
• College and Major
• You New City and Job
• How you traveled to Your New City
• Show a Map of Places You Found (Print PDF To JPEG)
• Stores you shopped At 
• Your Dream Car
• Utilities and Insurance
• Grocery and Food (Specifically Your Family Dinner)
• What is there to do for fun in your new city?
• Wrap Up!

You MUST INCLUDE the Links to your PMB Worksheet and PMB Spreadsheet on the First Slide of your Presentation!  (See Example)

You must have a picture on every slide. 

Do not write full sentences, only use the presentation to remind you of what to talk about next.

Make sure you pick a theme and background. 

You must SHARE this project with me at harvey.scribner@techfreire.org for credit prior to Thursday, March 25th at 4pm for credit!

In case you missed the review, here are the steps to complete this project:

Spend time making sure that your Personal Monthly Budget (PMB) Project is up to date.  You need to have completed Steps 1-8 so far.  Please use the PMB Worksheet and PMB Spreadsheet that should be located in your Google Drive (and shared for credit with harvey.scribner@techfreire.org) to track your work.  You should have the following items on the worksheet/spreadsheet completed by now:

Step 1 - Choose a College & Major:  Research basic information about the college you chose.  If your path did not include college, please describe the training you completed for your chosen career path.

Step 2 - Complete the Budget & Finance step by using the resources on the Class Reference Site (link below)

Step 3 -  Find your first job using Aftercollege.com or another job search website.  You cannot choose a job in, or around Philadelphia.  For this exercise you need to choose a new city in the contiguous 48 states.  Complete this step using information from the job you found.

Step 4 - Find your first apartment in your new city.  Make sure you have a plan to get back and forth to work, know the address and exact monthly rent for your apartment.  You should note any additional fees or benefits (trash, water, sewer included) for this new apartment.  Complete the Data Sheet on the PMB Spreadsheet with your apartment and work information.

Step 5a - Shop for your new apartment.  You will list all furnishings and items you buy, cost, and list them on the spreadsheet (Shopping List)

Step 5b -  Use Google Maps to create a neighborhood map with specific items listed on the website and worksheet.  If you cannot use Google Maps, just find the name of the businesses and locations and the address of each.  List them on the worksheet.

Step 6 - Create a Weekly Menu (Spreadsheet) and decide what you will be eating for a normal week in your new location.  Use the Weekly Menu to create a Grocery List and shop on Instacart (or another supermarket website) to determine how much your weekly food budget should be.  You can include eating out and fast food, but you need to note how much those items would be too.

Step 7 - Look at resources for Utility costs in your new city.  Make sure to add your Rent, Utility Costs, Grocery Bill, and other expenses on the PMB Spreadsheet Budget Page

Step 8 - Use the online resources to estimate the costs, and types, of insurance you might need.  Price and add Renters Insurance to your PMB Budget Spreadsheet.  You should also add estimates for Health, Life, and Auto if you are getting car.  

Step 9 - Final Changes were listed on the Class Reference Website (link below).  Make sure that you follow the instructions listed, and then find places on your budget to include.  One thing I forgot to mention is that when you graduated from college (or training for your career) you had a wealthy relative so proud of you that they gave you $2500 to help you get your start, make sure to include this in your initial budget sheet as income, or put it in savings for an emergency.  Either way it needs to be added to your PMB Budget Spreadsheet.

You will eventually create a presentation for this project that outlines your choices and information.  Email me questions, or ask for help.  Good Luck!  - Mr. S

03/17 (SYNCH): PMB Step 9 FINAL CHANGES

Objective:  Make Final Changes to your Personal Monthly Budget (PMB) Project.  Make sure that your PMB Worksheet is complete, and that every STEP has been filled in completely.  Use the posts on the Class Reference Site (See BLOG ARCHIVE section to the right to find individual posts) to complete any missed or incomplete work.  Use the information below to make final changes to your PMB Spreadsheet.  

Here are the final changes to your Family Monthly Budget. Please record the changes and make sure you SHARE both your PMB Worksheet (Google Doc) and your PMB Budget (Google Sheets) with Mr. S  (harvey.scribner@techfreire.org) for credit.  I will review your budget and comment on them later this week. This will be a major part of the grade for this marking period:

MAKE THE FINAL FOLLOWING CHANGES TO YOUR BUDGET  

1. Add 5 pints of your favorite ice-cream to your grocery bill for the month (Shop online groceries for pricing)

2. Add $150 to your budget for home repair.  (Broken Window)

3. Add a Doctor’s visit to your budget ($20 copay)

4. If you did not add a vehicle to your initial budget, you need to find a car and insurance.

5. Get a pet: dog, cat, fish, snake, whatever….but budget for the animal, veterinarian, and care products.

6. You are taking a class at a local college….add $425 for tuition and $125 for books.

7. You went to the movies with your friend…..add enough to cover popcorn and tickets.

8. You took first prize in a writing contest….add $100

9. Add $50 per month for an increase in cell phone service

10. Find a bicycle for fun and add the cost to your budget

11. You went to the mall to shop for clothes… add $125.

12. You won the lottery……$150…scratch-off… add to your budget

13. Your mom’s birthday is coming up…get her a gift….add it

14. Your electric bills are 10% higher than you budgeted for…..add it

Don't forget to estimate your monthly grocery budget by multiplying your weekly grocery shopping plus your fast food budget by four. Add those values to your budget as well.

Add all of the above changes to your budget sheet somewhere appropriate (your choice). Make sure your shopping lists are correct and complete. Make sure that your entries are complete for groceries and eating out. Finally, please send me an email stating your budget is complete and ready to be checked. 

The last step is to create a Google Slides Presentation showing your budget, explaining how you chose the city and career you picked, describing the items you bought and how you live, and showing pictures of the new city, apartment, and other items.

03/15 (SYNCH): PMB Step 8 - Insurance

Objective: Students will learn why insurance is critical to making sure they are covered in the event of a catastrophic loss. Students will complete a GMail Response about the primary types of insurance they may require in their lives. Students will discover what Renters Insurance is and why it is important. Students will calculate basic costs for different types of coverage and estimate monthly costs associated with Renters Insurance. Students will then choose a Dream Car and investigate the costs of owning and operating it.

Step-By-Step

1. Read Lifehacker Article and Complete GMAIL RESPONSE Assignment
2. Follow steps to learn about and estimate Renters Insurance Needs.
3. Follow directions for the Dream Car exercise and investigate insurance costs.
4. Enter costs on Budget Sheet prior to leaving class today!
5. Work on any items still outstanding for class.

Please READ the following article

https://www.trustedchoice.com/insurance-articles/opinion-variety/college-graduate-insurance-guide/

and write a Gmail Response about what types of insurance you need and why (In Your Own Words!). Then continue with the exercise below and enter your insurance costs (ACTUAL Cost Column) on your Budget Sheets.

Sample Gmail

To:  harvey.scribner@techfreire.org

Subject:  Insurance GMail Response

Body of Email:  2-3 Sentences about what types of insurance you might need at your new apartment for the Personal Monthly Budget (PMB) Project.

RENTERS INSURANCE

Unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen. We get car insurance, homeowners insurance, and health insurance to be on the safe side. But what if you are a renter? Who protects your belongings and makes sure you are not held responsible for personal or property damage at your apartment? If you rent an apartment, condo, or home, renters insurance is your safeguard against property loss and personal liability.

Imagine the following scenarios:

What if all your clothes, TV, computer, furniture, and other belongings were destroyed by fire? Could you replace them, immediately, out of pocket?  Could you be held liable if your friends or family were injured on the apartment grounds or in your apartment?

What if your apartment unit was broken into and your personal property was stolen, how would your belongings be replaced?

Fire. Injury. Robbery. These are just a few reasons why people get apartment renters insurance. It is up to you to protect your belongings and prepare for the unexpected with rental insurance. Whether you are looking for apartment renters insurance or insurance to cover your storage rental you need to consider these:

• protect you against the financial risk associated with property damage
• insure full replacement value for your personal property and that of your neighbors
• provide you with quick payment for approved claims
• provide you with temporary living expenses over and above your normal living expenses if your apartment is covered in the loss
• give you peace of mind!

Use this calculator to total up the value of everything in your apartment and think about how you would replace it in the event of a disaster or problems: 

https://www.valuepenguin.com/average-cost-renters-insurance

https://www.allstate.com/tr/renters-insurance/compare-coverage.aspx

Other Calculators for Life Insurance, Retirement Savings, etc.

https://www.allstate.com/tr/calculators.aspx

PICK YOUR DREAM CAR 

Use this calculator to find out how much you might pay annually for insurance: (If you have a car in this budget, enter the amount of your monthly payment estimate)

https://www.carinsurance.com/car-insurance-estimator.aspx

Use this calculator to estimate your monthly payment. You must estimate using a 48-month loan at 7% interest. Good Luck!

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/simple-loan-payment-calculator.aspx

NOW use the following calculator to think about how much Savings you will need to set aside while you are earning a living (your starting amount is the amount leftover from your shopping trip on moving day:

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/simple-savings-calculator.aspx

Add your monthly savings into your budget.  You might also need some life insurance, but that is normally handled with your employee benefits people. Your new jobs could include Life, Health, and other benefits we will discuss today.

Finally, you can now add your EARNINGS from our Investopedia Stock Market Game. Call me over to make the withdrawal if you want. I will have today's printout with totals and will approve all withdrawals.

Enter all of your items into your budget and save them for tomorrow!!

-Mr. S

03/10 (SYNCH): PMB Step 7 - Utilities, Bills, & Budget Spreadsheets

Objective: Students will begin to enter data on their budget sheets. ALL ENTRIES ARE TO GO IN THE "ACTUAL" COSTS COLUMN OF THE BUDGET! Students should spend time today entering their Actual Costs for rent, transportation (train/bus pass), shopping costs, and any other items on their budget sheets. Students should also add the MONTHLY INCOME to the INCOME BOX to initialize the sheet. Finally, students should research the cost of utilities in their new city and estimate the costs on their budget sheets. See directions below for figuring out your monthly utilities.

Steps:
1. Enter your Monthly Income in the Income Box on the Budget Sheet
2. Enter your Actual Cost for your RENT
3. Enter your Actual Cost for the SHOPPING you did to move in.
4a. Complete The GMail Response Listed Below
4b. Use the tools below to determine your Average Utility Costs for the Month:
          Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Sewer, Trash Pickup, Phone, Cable, Internet
5. Enter those costs on the Actual Cost Column of your Budget

GMAIL RESPONSE:  Open your Gmail application and send 2-3 sentences to Mr. S (harvey.scribner@techfreire.org) about your project.  Think about how much it may cost to heat and cool your apartment, provide water and sewer, trash, cable tv and phone service.  If you are using only a cell phone, how will you get internet or other tv channels (streaming services) in your new apartment?  Please complete this step BEFORE you investigate the costs using the tools below.

UTILITY COST ESTIMATE TOOLS 

Here is an article with a good idea of how much you should estimate based on your income for your budget: 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/rules-of-thumb-for-estimating-apartment-utility-costs-100024/comment-page-1/ 

Today you will be examining how much your local utilities cost. You are at your new apartment and you need to estimate your monthly utility expenses. There are many websites you can use, but to make sure you are estimating correctly you will need to read the following article first:

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-to-estimate-cost-of-utilities.htm

Once you have read the article, please open your Weebly.com Journal and write a few sentences about which utility companies you use in your new city and how much you are estimating for the costs for your new apartment.

Here are some additional websites to help you estimate your costs:

http://www.allconnect.com/shopping/sc-phone/phone.html#selectedTab_tv

http://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/

https://www.mymove.com/moving/guides/how-much-are-utilities/

You can also use Google (or another search engine) to find sources for estimates of costs in your city.  Once you have estimated your costs, enter the amounts in your budget under the ACTUAL COSTS COLUMN.

WATER/SEWER:  The average household US water bill varies widely from state to state and municipality to municipality. Small town household water rates fall somewhere between $1.00 and $2.00 per 748 gallons of water or HCF (hundred cubic feet). Large city household water rates are from $2.00 to $3.00 per 748 gallons of water.   Many water bills are billed on a bi-monthly basis.

Many large cities have tiered water rate structures, whereby customers pay much higher rates for the water they consume beyond a certain predetermined amount.

The average US resident uses around 150 gallons of water per day. This number varies widely. Let’s look at a household of 4’s water consumption for one month or over a billing cycle:

Average daily water consumption: 600 gallons of water
Average monthly water consumption: 18,000 gallons of water
How many HCF is this? -> 18,000 divided by 748 = 24
Average cost per HCF? -> $1.50
Average monthly water bill? -> $1.50 x 24 = 36
Average bi-monthly water bill? -> $72

(Bear in mind that this number is for the small municipality only)
* We of course need to add to this number the sewage rate/cost plus any additional fees. To be safe, let’s just call it an $15 per month.

New average US household water bill? -> $51

Now, let’s acknowledge that this is only a number to which there’s no need to hold fast to. It merely gives us an idea of the expensiveness of water, and just how quickly a water bill can go through the roof due to a running or leaking toilet, say, a phenomenon to which 90% of all high water bills are due.

TELEPHONE, CABLE, and INTERNET:  Make sure you find your local providers and compare pricing. If you are using a Cell Phone, you must also add that to your Budget Sheet.

Keep up the Great Work on this project! The school year is almost over!

- Mr. S

03/04 (SYNCH): PMB Step 6 - Grocery Day [Weekly Menu]

Objective: To plan a weekly meal menu and shop for items on the list. To identify prices and differences in the quality of different items. To be able to accurately create a personal menu, shopping list, and translate your purchases into an online budget form for evaluation.

Steps:
1. Complete Weekly Menu Form - Get it Approved.
2. Complete Grocery List Based on Menu Choices - Get it Approved.
3. Shop online for items on Grocery List and compare quality and prices.
4. Total your Grocery Spending and Enter All Items on Shopping List in Budget Online (PMB)
5. Share your menu and list with the class during final presentations.

Please use the handout to plan your menu for a week. I would like you to plan at least 2 dinners for 2 people, and a family dinner (6 people or more) for the weekend sometime. It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but include anything you would normally serve. Once your menu is complete, make a grocery list. In addition to groceries, there is a list of other items (BELOW) that you will need to keep at your home. Detergent, soap, etc. You may also include any items you might actually use regularly to your shopping list.

Additional Items to Buy:  Laundry Detergent, Soap, Shampoo, Deodorant, a Mop, a Broom, All-Purpose Cleaner, Light Bulbs, Dish Soap, 3 2-Liter Bottles of Soda (ie. Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc.), Band-Aids, Cold Medicine, and a Bucket, Tylenol or Advil, Batteries and a Flashlight, a Basic Tool Set, a Wiffle Ball Bat Set, and M&M's.  

 
Finally, go to the website below and price everything you will need. You may need to make substitutions, but you will get a good general idea of prices for your weekly shopping trip. You will enter these figures on your monthly budget (remember that this sheet and shopping list is only for one week) when you are finished as actual costs.

Here are a couple of places to shop. You may also look for other online grocery stores, pharmacies or other providers. They must list individual item pricing and you need to figure out delivery if you do not have one of the stores local to your new apartment. (Example: You can price things at Target.com, but you must figure out shipping costs if you do not have a Target store locally. You must also figure out how to get your purchases home if you do not have a car.)

https://www.freshdirect.com/index.jsp

http://www.amazon.com/

https://www.lifewire.com/groceries-online-3482646

YOU MUST ADD EVERY ITEM ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST TO THE PERSONAL SHOPPING LIST PAGE OF YOUR DATA SHEET ON THE FAMILY MONTHLY BUDGET. MAKE SURE YOU CREATE AREA FOR YOUR GROCERY SHOPPING FROM THE SHOPPING LIST YOU COMPLETED FOR YOUR MOVING DAY!

03/02 (SYNCH): PMB Step 5 - Google Map / Moving Day

Google MAP Project

 NOTE:  Until Tech Freire allows students to use Google Maps (My Maps) Application, please just create a list of the locations below on your PMB Google Document Worksheet for Step 5!

Today you will be creating a GOOGLE MAP of your new home and work area. Please sign-in to GMAIL and then follow Google site to Google Maps. Below is a link to a sample map that I created for myself. It assumes that my first job out of college was teaching here. I located our school, a local apartment, and I saved the route I take to work (use Get Directions and save the result to your map). I also included most of the information that you will have to find for yourself. See my example at the following link:
http://goo.gl/maps/aCRTS

Once you have looked at my map, your assignment today is to CREATE your own GOOGLE MAP that includes the following items:

Work, Home, Directions (Route) from Home to Work

You must also include the following:
GROCERY
SHOPPING MALL/CENTER
LAUNDRY/DRY CLEANER
COFFEE SHOP
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (Closest Bus or Train)
CLOSEST MAJOR AIRPORT (In case you need to fly home to Philly)
HOSPITAL
DOCTOR'S OFFICE
DENTIST'S OFFICE
CHURCH/PLACE OF WORSHIP (Optional)
THREE (3) DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS
TWO (2) FUN THINGS TO DO

Please add Mr. S (harvey.scribner@techfreire.org) as a COLLABORATOR and email me the link to your map. 

This exercise will give you an idea of what types of things you need to look for if you move to another city someday to take a job or start college. Even if you share an apartment/house with others, you should know this information. 

MOVING TO YOUR NEW CITY

Personal Monthly Budget Worksheet (Google Sheets Template)

Now you need to furnish your new place to live. Find a list of the following sources, and add it to your shopping list page.

1. Transportation around town: (Bike, Car, Public Transportation, Walk, etc.)

2. Basic Furniture: Bed, Couch, Table & Chairs, Lamps, Desk, Lights, TV, Stereo, Dresser, Computer, and other major items:

3. Household Goods: Dishes, Pots&Pans, Glassware, Silverware, Towels, Sheets, Blankets, Pillows, Plants, etc.:

List each item on the shopping list sheet of your SPREADSHEET. You must keep track of everywhere online you shop and enter your spending in your checkbook ledger. All of your spendings will be tracked on this ledger for the month. Credits are deposits and Debits are spending/checks etc.