Setting Financial Goals
People of all ages need to set financial goals, whether these goals are for short-term needs or for the future. Using the information provided in the scenario below, and the things you learned in this topic, respond to the questions that follow the scenario.
Karen is a teenager. One day she asks her mother for money to go to a movie with her friends. Her mother asks what she did with her allowance and babysitting money that she just got last week. Karen decides to write down what she spent her money on last week so she can answer her mother’s question. These are the things she wrote down for last week: bought lunch at school five times, $3.00 each; gave a friend $5 for gas money for rides to school; bought a new CD for $15; bought a new pair of shoes for $20.
Questions
- How much did Karen spend last week?
- Write down at least one suggestion for how Karen can change her spending or income so she won’t have to ask her mother for money next week.
- Karen has decided to make a plan to save at least $10 a week. Describe three things Karen should do to make sure she reaches her goal.
- Give at least one factor that could affect this plan. Give a recommendation on how Karen could adjust her plan in order to meet her goal despite this factor.
- Karen wrote down one goal; she would like to buy a new laptop computer. She has asked your advice on this goal. Think about her goal and explain whether or not it is specific, measurable, realistic, and actionable. For each missing component, give Karen suggestions on how to change the goal to make it include the missing components.
Once you have finished answering the questions, submit your responses to the dropbox.