1. Personal Finance Management
Career Related Learning Experience
Step 3
Now that you have decided on what career you are looking into and some different
options for getting there, it is time to calculate the costs and make a plan for getting
there. This step would be best done with bullet points or an excel worksheet, whichever
way works best for you to present this information to me.
1. Choose a college and create a list of expenses for each year until graduation.
(Graduation is the completion of whatever degree or training that is required for
your career!)
A. Where to live?
i. List your options and include costs – Live at home? Will you pay rent at home?
On-campus, off-campus (if allowed by your school)? Roommates? etc..
ii. If you chose to live on-campus, what arrangements will you make for summer
break?
iii. List transportation costs for each living situation and consider the location of
your school.
1. Do you need a car? If so:
a. $1,500.00 a year for insurance (minimum)
b. $500 a year for maintenance (hopefully)
c. $100 a year for a parking permit
d. 25mpg and $3.85 a gallon for gas
2. If not:
a. What is the cost of alternate transportation for routine trips
(bus fare, taxi, etc.)
b. Is the bus free for your college?
B. What is the total cost of college tuition per year?
C. What is the total cost of books and fees per year?
D. How much will you spend on food, clothing, “educational” electronics, etc. per
year?
E. What other costs do you need to plan for per year?
F. Add all the costs. Multiply this number by the number of years you will be in
college.
Some important considerations:
1. Does the college have mandatory freshman residency requirements for living in
the dorms?

2. 2. Is there enough parking space to realistically bring a car? Does the college
encourage you not to bring a car?
3. Be conservative in your estimates, if you are use to buying $100 pair of jeans, $50
isn’t probably enough of a budget for clothes.
Next you are going to need to make some educated guesses and do some more
research…
Go to http://www.finaid.org
Read about scholarships and loans
Use the information provided under loans to estimate your college debt upon
graduation.
To present this information, list these costs in a table or spreadsheet so that they make
sense to you and those reading the table. Be creative and really think through your
answers.