Last week, I had the good fortune of speaking at the 12th Annual Destination College event which is designed to help high school juniors and their parents prepare for the whole getting-into-college “thing.” This event sells out every year and this year was no exception with over 1,000 in attendance.
During my presentation, “Cash or Plastic,” I provided an overview of the changes with credit and debit cards and the importance of using online banking and the current tech tools to track your fees and manage your money. One of my segments dealt with personal responsibility and basic math. I cited a article released from the New York Times that indicated the average starting salary from the Class of 2010 was $46,000. Using that as the baseline, I showed a simple Excel spreadsheet, made the assumption of a 28% tax bracket and then determine the monthly take-home pay. I then asked a series of questions about monthly expenses and lifestyle.
It didn’t take very long for the students and parents in the session to realize that basic math will force you to make decisions about how to manage your money. It also brought home the point that planning ahead, deciding the difference between needs and wants, the level of student loan debt and living within your means are old-school concepts that serve us well today.
It didn’t take very long for the students and parents in the session to realize that basic math will force you to make decisions about how to manage your money. It also brought home the point that planning ahead, deciding the difference between needs and wants, the level of student loan debt and living within your means are old-school concepts that serve us well today.
Here’s the simple file that I used - fill the blank line items to suit your situation.
Salary $46,000.00
Taxes $12,880.00
Net $33,120.00
Monthly $2,760.00
Rent
Student Lns
Auto Pmt
Gas
Auto Insurance
Utilities (don't forget cable & internet)
Phone (data plan?)
Food
Amount Left for your lifestyle
It’s all about the math really.
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