Final Exam Review/Budgeting - Money Matters

Which of these costs would be the MOST difficult to adjust if you were looking to reduce your expenses?

• Dining out at local restaurants

• Loan payment on a new car

• Expenses for new clothes

• Postponing a purchase for a big-screen TV

You earn a salary of $40,000 per year and decide to save 20% of your gross pay. You then set a goal of creating  a $16,000 emergency fund. How long will it take for you to achieve your goal?

• 6 months

• 1 year

• 2 years

• 3 years

Which of the following is a sign that you have a budget deficit?

• Your savings account balance grows every month.

• You overdraw your checking account on a consistent basis (with a $34 cost per overdraft).

• Your checking account balance grows every month.

• You pay more than the minimum monthly loan payment towards your student loans.

Leila just graduated from college and is comparing a few different cities to move to. Which of these factors is the LEAST important thing for her to consider right now?

• Average rent for an apartment

• Food and grocery store options in the area

• Employment opportunities

• Average cost of Uber, Lyft, or taxi fare

Greg is trying to decide whether he needs a car or not when he moves to the city. Which of the following would convince Greg to get a car rather than use public transportation?

• There are several public transportation routes between Greg's apartment and work.

• The cost of public transportation is less than Greg’s monthly car payment.

• Greg’s company covers half the cost of his monthly public transportation pass.

• Using public transportation, Greg’s commute to work one-way is two hours.

Which of these boxes of cereal has the LOWEST unit price?

• Cereal A, which costs $3.20 for a 16 oz. box

• Cereal B, which costs $5.00 for a 32 oz. box

• Cereal C, which costs $2.50 for a 10 oz. box

• Cereal D, which costs $4.50 for an 8 oz box

Isaiah works for the summer at a technology company and has a salary for the summer of $3,000. After Federal and state taxes, Social Security, and Medicare are deducted, his take-home pay is $2,500. Which of the statements below is correct?

• His gross pay is $2,500 and net pay is $3,000.

• His gross and net pay are $3,000.

• His gross and net pay are $2,500.

• His gross pay is $3,000 and net pay is $2,500.

You are putting together your first post-graduation budget. Your take-home pay will be $2,500 per month. You estimate your monthly costs to be rent of $900, car related expenses to be $550, entertainment of $200, food expense of $250, cable bill of $75, mobile phone of $100, student loan payment of $400 and other expense of $150. How would you describe your budget after analyzing all of your income and expenses?

• You have a surplus of $125.

• You have a deficit of $125.

• You have a deficit of $2,625.

• You have a surplus of $2,500.

You are interested in renting an apartment after graduating college. You meet with the landlord, complete the application and after checking your credit background and references, the landlord approves your application. In most cases, you will need to provide the landlord with ___________________ at the time you sign the lease in order to get the apartment.

• First month's rent

• First and last month's rent

• $1,000 security deposit to cover any damages to the apartment

• First and last month's rent + a security deposit to cover any damages to the apartment

Which of the following is a BAD budgeting strategy to use if you want to save money at the grocery store?

• Prepare a grocery list before you go to the store, and avoid buying items that aren’t on the list

• Build a weekly meal plan around items you already own or items that are on sale that week, rather than just choosing foods you'd like to eat

• When comparing similar products, focus on the price only

• When comparing similar products, be sure to compare based on unit price