Assignments are to be completed in APA 6th edition formatting unless specifically stated. You do not need an abstract, conclusion, author’s note or any other section besides a title page, body of your paper (with in-text citations), and a reference page if necessary. You need to use 2 credible outside sources for each assignment from a peer-reviewed journal or book.

The paper needs to be 4 pages long, double-spaced (not counting your title or reference pages) and you need to include at least 2 outside sources besides your textbook. Outside sources include but are not limited to credible online news sources (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Forbes, US News & World Report, Newsweek, Time, etc), academic/scientific articles, credible money websites. If you have questions about whether a source is credible please visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/552/03/(Links to an external site.)

This assignment is intended for you to show off your writing skills, to take an in-depth look at your own finances, and to research what credible experts from outside sources are saying about money. The paper will be graded closely and points will be deducted for grammatical errors, not following APA format, not following directions, not meeting the page minimum, and not including at least 2outside sources.

Finally, please attach your budget worksheet to the end of your paper. It needs to be the last page of your assignment document after the references page. It cannot be a separate attachment or a hyperlink. This is worth 5 points. If it is not attached as the last page of your document you will lose 5 points.

Assignment 1: Dave Ramsey, budgeting, and debt –

Please watch the following short videos by Dave Ramsey on his 10 steps to Financial Freedomon Youtube:

1. Budgeting: The Blessing Of Budgeting – Dave Ramsey Rant (Links to an external site.)

2. Emergency Fund:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAV7Nsxv2ng&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w (Links to an external site.)
3. Snowball Payoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kq2HLOxKUY&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w&index=2 (Links to an external site.)
4. Completing Emergency Fund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvmVIulBwEo&index=3&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w (Links to an external site.)
5. Simple Retirement Investment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPxGR_CQfoQ&index=4&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w (Links to an external site.)
6. College Savings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZecVMdu_z08&index=5&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w (Links to an external site.)

7. Paying Off Mortgage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53gu834L518&list=PLlkeyjq6Mjc7AGjo9fw6nioajfq1Wd02w&index=6 (Links to an external site.)

8. Giving: You can watch step 7 if you would like, but it is religious in nature so please be forewarned!

First, download and print off the documents entitled “Monthly Budget Form” and “Sample Budget” located on the left navigation side of the class site under Assignment #1 – Budget and fill it out using your own personal finances or use the figure of $52,500 which is the average annual salary for a college graduate (if you would prefer not to use your own personal finances). By “your own personal finances” I mean that you may just use your income, or you and your spouse’s income, or if you take care of your elderly Grandma and use her social security you can include that, you may combine or not combine your partner’s income if you live with them and share expenses etc. I want this to be your ACTUAL current budget situation or whatever is most helpful to you. For example, if you are getting married you can combine yours and your future spouses incomes or if you are getting ready to have a child or want to think about having a child factor in daycare/hospital bills etc.) You’ll need to look up what tax bracket you are in for federal and state. Assume you are a family of 4 or more (a spouse, 2 children) if you don’t want to use your own situation. You don’t have to have an amount in every category that I suggested and you can add your own categories. You can put a zero if the category is not applicable to you or you don’t have enough money. Attach the budget to the end of your paper. If you do not attach the budget worksheet to your paper you will lose 5 points.

Lastly answer AT LEAST 2 questions from each paragraph of questions below in a 4-6 page paper, including 2 outside CREDIBLE sources:

Have you ever made a budget before? How was it filling out the form? Do you think a budget is helpful? Why or why not? Do you think $52,500 is a lot of money for a family of 4? What should you consider doing if this is not enough money (i.e. getting a second job or a night time shift?) What do you think about how much is taken out for taxes? Have you decided whether you want a parent to stay home and raise the children (and/or work from home) or whether you would like your children in daycare? This will affect both your income and your budget (childcare expense, Loss of 1 income). This something worth discussing before one gets married and buys a home. If you desire to have a parent raise the children, decide this before taking on a large mortgage!

What did you think about Dave Ramsey’s “baby steps” to becoming debt free and budgeting goals? Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? Do you agree with Dave that being debt free should be everyone’s goal? When might it be okay to take on debt? When is it not okay? What do outside sources or credible sources say about Dave Ramsey’s method?

Do you have credit cards? How much do you owe on them? What is your interest rate? What is your plan to pay off your credit cards? What is your plan to not depend on credit cards in the future? Can you find any stories on credible sites about people that got into major financial trouble by depending on credit cards? What do outside sources or credible sources say about credit cards and credit card debt? Do you have student loans? What is your plan to pay those off as quickly as possible?

Are you thinking of buying a home? Is it a good idea to save up a down payment on a home instead of taking a large mortgage even if that means renting for awhile? Do you already own a home? How many years do you have left on your home mortgage and what is your interest rate? Are you able to make extra payments each month or at the end of each year to cut down on the years? Why might it be a good idea to pay extra payments? Why might be a bad idea? What do outside sources or experts say about paying off home mortgages (there are varying opinions on this)?

Do you have children? Have you thought of saving for their college already? How much do the experts predict college will cost when your kids are of the age? How much would you need to save monthly to meet the cost of tuition? How much will textbooks cost then and living expenses? Have you and your spouse or just you talked about whether you are going to pay for your children’s college or whether they should get scholarships or pay for part of it themselves?

Have you thought about your own retirement? When do you think people should start thinking about retirement? What options do you have for retirement (i.e. a 401K through your work, IRA, other investments?) What are some reasons why you should not depend on an inheritance from your parents to retire on? What do the experts from credible online sources say about retirement?