Personal Finance Planning Project

 Description of Project:  The students can utilize their personal situation or a family member, business
associate, etc.  The primary goal is to develop a plan encompassing the following topics.  

First, develop a monthly budget tracking expenses over one to two months.  Compare the monthly expenses to monthly income and forecast out into the future in a general way.  

Second, discuss setting up an emergency fund covering six months of expenses.  Describe in detail how you plan on achieving this goal.  

Third, describe a plan for repaying student loan debt, credit card debt, auto debt etc.  

Fourth, Describe personal income and career goals over the short and long term.  

Lastly, describe your retirement planning strategy with specific goals of monthly amounts of savings, general types of investments and estimated rates of return.  Describe how much you estimate you will accumulate over the long term based on your underlying assumptions. 

Learning Outcomes:  Explain various concepts and strategies outlined in the text as you prepare the
report.  Describe in detail any and all assumptions made in preparing the report.  Apply concepts from
the textbook and other sources and how you utilized them in developing the plan.  You are welcome to
use outside sources, websites, retirement calculators, etc.  Utilize the information in the book and
discussion with the professor, outside sources or industry professionals in developing the overall plan.  
Analyze and discuss what you learned from doing the plan and the benefits for your future. 

Assessment:  The plan will be assessed by the professor with regard to inclusion of the key parts of the
plan and utilization of key concepts covered in the book and by the professor and outside sources.  The
key will be covering the major areas – budget, emergency fund, debt repayment and retirement
strategy.  The report should be a minimum of 5 to 10 pages including graphs, charts, etc.