BUYING AND SAVING
In this project, you will investigate the process of buying a house and a car. This will include finding a job, saving money for a down payment, getting a loan, finding a house, finding a car, and computing your monthly mortgage and monthly car payments. The actual process is very complicated and includes many steps. This project will give you an overview, an idea, of what it will be like. We will explore these scenarios in simplistic terms to develop an understanding of some finance concepts covered in Ch4. Be sure to show all calculations, formulas, simplifying, and solving to receive full credit. You do not need to write down the long decimals from the calculator, only the rounded answer with necessary algebraic operations you used to reach your answer... AKA Show all your work.
STEP 1 FIND A JOB (10 POINTS)
Assume that you will graduate from college this May. You now have the certificate, license, degree, etc. that you need to get the job you want. Congratulations! Describe what kind of job you expect to have and what starting salary is realistic for that type of job. As you research this, consider where you plan to live, as salaries will vary from state to state. Project your salary over 5 years, including raises and cost-of-living increases. Support your salary assumptions with data and cite your sources.
My degree, certificate, or license _______________________________________________________
My profession ______________________________________________________________________
My salary Year 1 ____________________ Year 2 ___________________
Year 3 ____________________ Year 4 ____________________ Year 5 ____________________
I believe my salary assumptions are correct because:
Adapted from a project by Kimberley Kelton
2
STEP 2 SAVE MONEY (25 POINTS)
You will save money for a down payment on a home. You will save 10% of your gross monthly salary for 5 years. Your salary will likely increase every year, so to make this simple take your total income for the 5 years and find the average monthly salary. Save 10% of this amount each month. Choose a bank, Writing and select a savings account or money market account. It will have a low interest rate, and that’s fine. Because you are making equal, periodic payments, you can use the future value of an ordinary annuity formula to find the amount you will have in 5 years. You must pay 20% federal taxes on the interest you earned. Describe the type of savings account you are choosing, including the APR and the rate per compounding period. You may include a printout of the information from the bank’s website.
My total income over 5 years __________________________________________________________
My average gross monthly salary _______________________________________________________
I will save this much each month _______________________________________________________
My bank is _________________________________________________________________________
My type of savings account ___________________________________________________________
The APR______________________ The rate per compounding period _________________________
My future value will be _______________________________________________________________ Show your work here:
I made this much in interest ____________________________________________________________
I will pay this much in taxes ___________________________________________________________
The total amount I have saved __________________________________________________________
Adapted from a project by Kimberley Kelton
3
STEP 3 GET A LOAN (10 POINTS)
You need an idea of how much you can spend on a house. This can be tricky. Use the calculator from the website www.interest.com/content/calculators/afford-borrow.asp to determine the maximum you should spend on your home. I would suggest spending less than your maximum. Determine the amount you qualify to borrow. Research home loans and select the type of loan you want. You might start with the bank you used for your savings account, but you are free to select any lender. Look for a low interest rate, check the loan origination fees, and consider whether you want to pay off this mortgage in 15, 20, or 30 years.
According to the calculator, I quality for this much money ________________________________
The maximum amount I choose to spend on my home _______________________________________ My lender _______________________________ Type of loan _________________________________ Interest Rate ________________________ Length of Loan _______________________________
STEP 4 FIND A HOME (5 POINTS)
Look for homes on www.trulia.com , www.zillow.com Writing www.homes.com, etc.. It is wise to select a home that is
less than your maximum. Do not go over your maximum.
My home costs __________________________. The town or area of my home ________________________. The website with details about my home is _____________________________________________________. Include pictures.
I chose this home because ___________________________________________________________________________
The amount I need to borrow _________________________________________________________
Adapted from a project by Kimberley Kelton
4
STEP 5 CALCULATE YOUR MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS (25 POINTS)
Use the amortization formula to calculate your monthly payment. This payment that you found is called the P Writing