Part 2: Budgeting Case Study

James is a student attending Conestoga College to become an electrician. He worked hard in his last year of high school and was able to save $4500 to help pay for various necessities over the school year.

James tuition costs $5000 for the year. He received an OSAP loan of $6000 to attend college, and only needs to worry about paying the interest each month, which is $100. His parents give him an allowance of $100 per week while he is attending school to help pay for groceries and other miscellaneous items. James rented a room in student housing in Kitchener, which costs $450 per month, where utilities are included in the rent. James must pay for internet and his phone separately. His school supplies cost him $500 this year.

James is able to work at an apprenticeship while he is in school. He works for 5 hours, 3 times a week. He gets paid $12/hour.

James family lives in Waterloo. Since he is able to take the GRT to school, work and to visit home, he decided to not buy a car this year. He is able to get a Conestoga College Bus pass which is valid for a whole semester (4 months). This costs $227. James has dinner with his family every Sunday, and he gets sent home with enough food for half the week. He only spends about $70 per week on groceries, however he goes out for dinner every Friday night with friends and spends about $40 each time. He also loves movies, and goes out 3 times a month to the theater. He does not shop a lot and only spends about $50 each month on clothing.

As part of his tuition costs, James is able to use the campus facilities for recreation. He uses the gym, pool and tennis courts. He tries to put away $12 each week into a specific sports equipment savings account. He also wants to save $18 each week for other savings.

1. [C2] Highlight the important information you can use to create a monthly budget spreadsheet, directly on the case study above. Please use two different colours when highlighting: one for income and one for expenses.

2. [A7] Use the budget template (on the next page) to fill in the appropriate monthly dollar amounts for each income and expense. Round all values to two decimal places.

3. [A4] Estimate other income and expenses that could be assumed from this case study. Include at least 1 other income and 3 other expenses. List them below and then add them to the table.

4. [C2] Is James balance positive or negative? Explain what this means.