In part 4, students were given homework that included finding a place to live and making a budget.
Most of the students found that rent was more than they expected.
Making a budget was a little difficult for them because many expenses were estimates. Students did research the cost of utilities, cell phone plans, and transportation.
During class students were given a menu plan worksheet to plan a realistic menu for one week. They were required to include snacks. Using provided grocery ads, the students planned their menus and calculated grocery costs for one week.
"Married" students were required to plan together. This proved to be an interesting exercise in learning to compromise in a relationship. One person might love hot dogs and the other might hate them, therefore they had to come up with a meal plan that both parties would enjoy.
Menu planning also helped the students realize that their original grocery budget was not realistic and most of the students needed to increase that category.
As part of the menu planning, each student was given a 'perk' or a 'pitfall' to plan around. Some of the perks or pitfalls included planning for:
potluck at work- bring a dish to share
plan a special meal for spouse's birthday dinner
invited friends over for dinner- plan for extra people
travel for work- lunch is paid
Students were also given 'perks' and 'pitfalls' to add to their budget and plan how to include them. Some of these real world scenarios included:
rebate- $50
tire blow-out, buy two new tires- $200
had a garage sale- earned $100
buy used refrigerator- $300
The final 'marriage' lottery occurred at this point which left the class with two bachelors who were happy not to be required to include a spouse on their meager salary.
Homework for the week:
Find a house you would like to buy that you think you can afford.
Research a little bit about house loans.
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