Assignment
Practice Activity: Crafting Your Monthly Budget
Completion requirements
In this activity, you'll create a simulated monthly budget to visualize and plan your financial activities in spending, saving, and giving.
Instructions
- Select a Budgeting Tool:
- Visit NerdWallet's free budget spreadsheets and templates list.
- Choose one budgeting tool from the list that you find intuitive and user-friendly. (learners more comfortable with technology are welcome to try budgeting apps.)
- Create Your Simulated Budget:
- Utilize the selected tool to create a simulated monthly budget. (Note that you do not have to use your personal figures for this exercise, even though that could be most useful. Two of the goals for this activity are to familiarize you with available tools and prompt you to think about where the money is coming/going).
- Include categories for income, fixed expenses (like rent or mortgage), variable expenses (like groceries and entertainment), savings, and giving.
- Reflect:
- Reflect on your simulated budget:
- Are there areas where you could cut back on spending?
- Have you allocated funds for saving and giving?
- How does this budget align with the financial stewardship principles discussed in this course?
Submission
Using the option below, submit your simulated budget and a brief reflection (around 200 words). If you printed a spreadsheet and filled it out by hand, a scan/picture of this is also fine. Similarly, if you utilized a budgeting app, you can submit screen captures to demonstrate the completion of this step. With any of these options, be sure to include your reflection.