Math 123 Budget and Planning Project
Managing your money is one of the most important life skills. Throughout this project, you will examine your
current spending habits, start planning for your future, and predict what effect your planned career will have
on your finances. The project should be your own work and be submitted through IvyLearn. All calculations
should be completed using Excel (i.e.: do not use your calculator and type the answer into Excel). Use the Excel
template (.xls/.xlsx file) provided.
Project check #1 (25 points)
Submit your Excel File by:
1. Use the excel file provided to outline your monthly expense budget. The budget should consist of
current and future budgeting items that you anticipate after you graduate from IvyTech. For example,
if you currently do not pay rent, you should include some sort of housing cost, including utilities, in your
future budget area. You should complete the 10 items listed (or modify them if they do not apply) and
then add at least 9 additional items (19 total). You may add the 9 additional items to any category. At
the bottom of your list, use the =sum () function to find the total of your monthly budget.
2. Create a pie chart using the categories in your budget. Label the sections of the pie chart with the
names and %s of each category. Include a Title for your Chart. Write 1-2 sentences in the reflection
text box with observations from your pie chart. Use at least one % from the chart and explain what it
means in real life.
3. Create a bar graph (i.e.: column chart) for your monthly expenses. Include a chart title and labeled
axes. Write 1-2 sentences in the reflection text box with observations from your bar graph. Discuss at
least one category from the chart and explain what it means in real life.
4. Use the =count (), =min (), =max (), and =average () functions to calculate your minimum expense
amount, your maximum expense amount, and average expense amounts. Write 1 sentence that
explains what each of these results means in real life in the text box provided. Use the numbers you
calculated and be as specific as possible.
5. Write 2-3 sentences of general reflections. This should include any thoughts about specific expenses
and your overall impressions about your monthly budget.
Project check #2 (25 points)
Turn in your Excel File by:
1. Use an exponential formula to calculate the amount the maximum expense is expected to grow each
year for the next 20 years, assuming a 2.0% increase in inflation. Graph this information in a 2-D line
graph. Make sure to label your axes and include a chart title.
2. Look up your future career at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and use the 10% annual wage dollar
amount which can be thought of as a starting salary. Convert this yearly salary into a monthly salary. If
you share a household with a partner, add your monthly gross salary with your partners monthly gross
salary to find the total household income. If you do not share, type n/a in this box.
3. Use your total yearly household income and the 2024 tax tables at the link below to calculate your
yearly and monthly tax withholdings. Morgan Stanley 2025 Tax Tables
4. Subtract your monthly tax from your monthly gross household income to find your Monthly Household
Income after Taxes. Compare this to your total monthly budget. What is the absolute and relative
difference between your projected household income and your total household expenses?
5. In the text box, reflect on your future: How will the price of your most expensive item change over
time? Will the career that you are pursuing meet your expenses? Write 2-3 statements using the
results of your calculations in this excel worksheet and explaining the implications of these calculations
in real life.
Final Project check (50 Points)
Turn in your Excel and Word Files by
1. Adjust your monthly expense budget categories so that your total monthly expenses match your net
income after taxes. Make sure the net income roughly equals the expenses (with income being slightly
greater).
2. Take the amount you set aside for savings in your monthly expense budget and use Excel to find the
total of your 401K/IRA retirement account after 30 years with an average return of 5.5%. What is the
total of your deposits into this retirement account? What is the amount of interest that accumulated in
your account after 30 years? Use =NPER () to figure out the number of monthly periods you would
have to contribute money into your retirement account (with the same rate and deposit amount) to
have $500,000 in your retirement account. How many years is this?
3. Most banks recommend that you pay no more than 25-28% of your household income for rent or a
home loan (including property taxes and insurance, which are included in the monthly loan payment).
Calculate 28% of your projected net household income (after taxes) to find what monthly mortgage
payment you can afford with your future career. Use the =PV () function to determine the maximum
Loan amount you could afford with this monthly payment and a 30-year mortgage at 3.5% APR. If your
lender requires you to make a 10% down payment for the home, what would be the total cost of the
home you can afford to buy with this loan? If the closing costs and loan origination fees are
approximately $3000, how much cash would you have to pay at the time of purchasing your home?
Reflect on how you would save this amount prior to purchasing your home and discuss it in your
reflection paper below.
4. In Microsoft Word, write a concise, 1-page (at least 3 paragraphs, double spaced) reflection paper analyzing
what you learned from the project activities, and how you plan to use it your financial decisions in the future.
The paper should be in sentence form with no grammatical errors. Please be reflective in the paper and talk
about what you learned about your budget, career, taxes, housing, Excel, etc. Any honest reflections are
encouraged and expected. Some ideas:
o Explain your reasoning for your first monthly expense budget
o Discuss changes you had to make to your expense budget and your reasoning for making these
changes.
o What is your future career? Discuss if/how it will allow you to meet your budget.
o Does your career allow you to live in your desired area? Use an online website, such as Zillow, to look
at the cost of homes in your desired area. Discuss how this will or will not meet your future housing
needs.
o Do you think your retirement saving amount is enough to retire on? Why or why not? Reflect on the
amount that you will be contributing through your monthly deposits vs. how much interest you will get
from the bank.
Three Es for writing deeper sentences using Quantitative Reasoning:
1. Explain: blah blah blah, because ******
2. Examples: blah blah blah, for example *****
3. Evidence: Use specific statistics (numbers/calculations) from you excel file.