Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
We all have financial goals – buying or renting a home, purchasing a car, paying off a loan, or saving up for a vacation. And it can be challenging to figure out exactly how to save toward these goals, given the numerous expenses of daily living. A financial plan helps you identify how you can reach your short-term and long-term goals and leverage planning and organization strategies to make meaningful, incremental progress toward realizing these goals.
Your goal for this assignment is to build your productivity skill by creating a plan for reaching a specific financial goal within an identified time frame. You will use productivity strategies to break financial planning into manageable, organized steps. You will use Microsoft Excel to develop a realistic plan aligned to your financial goal – one that considers economic drivers, requirements, and resources. If you need a refresher on spreadsheets like Excel, review the tutorials in Unit 1, Challenge 3 of this course (Links are in Section D).
Touchstone 2: Creating a Personal Financial Plan
SCENARIO: Imagine that you are in a position where you need to move – this could be because of a change in job, a need to modify your living arrangements, or something else. In addition to searching for different housing, you want to begin saving for a specific financial goal.
You will use the
Assignment Template (an Excel file) to create a budget that satisfies the scenario. You’ll also answer reflection questions related to your goals.
ASSIGNMENT: This assignment has two parts. In part 1, you will create a financial plan based on the scenario described above. You’ll use your productivity skills to organize your plan, and you’ll use your problem solving skills to determine a reasonable rate of savings to reach your goals. Finally, you’ll apply your technology skills to ensure that your budget is balanced, and expenditures (like housing) don’t exceed your employment income.
In part 2, you will answer reflection questions about the decisions you made and the skills you leveraged while building your plan.
For this assignment, you will:
· Create a budget for a financial plan using Microsoft Excel, ensuring that the information is organized, accurate, and complete.
· Identify a personal savings goal and a time frame for reaching it.
· Explain how your choice of housing will help you achieve your personal savings goal.
· Align your expenditures to support your goal.
· Reflect on how creating a step-by-step and organized approach to the assignment helps you adjust the financial priorities in your plan.
Download the Excel template below, which further breaks down the steps involved in this assignment.
You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission.
Assignment Template
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the lists below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Creating a Financial Plan
❒ Have you populated the table cells for income, savings, housing, and other expenditures?
❒ Have you selected a rate of savings that is realistic in terms of achieving your financial goal?
❒ Have you verified that the sum of your expenditures (including savings) equals your employment income?
❒ Have you verified that the percent column for the expenditures totals 100%?
2. Reflection Questions
❒ Have you directly answered each question that was asked?
❒ Have you provided sufficient evidence to support each of your answers?
❒ Have you made clear and logical connections between your conclusions and the data used in the annual budget?
❒ Have you referred to the skills in this course, if required by the prompt?
❒ Have you included sufficient detail in your answers?
B. Rubric
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Acceptable (75%)
Needs Improvement (50%)
Non-Performance (0%)
Setting Up the Budget (P1S2-P1S5) (10 points)
Enter values in the annual budget for income, housing, and required savings rate based on the chosen savings goal.
Annual budget includes income, housing, and a savings rate. The savings rate is calculated correctly based on one of the given financial goals and the chosen time frame. Goal has been described clearly.
Annual budget includes income, housing, and a savings rate. The savings rate is calculated correctly based on one of the given financial goals and the chosen time frame. Goal could use more description.
Annual budget includes income, housing, and a savings rate but the values do not match what was given. The savings rate is calculated correctly based on the chosen goal and time frame. Goal was described.
Annual budget includes information for income and housing, but the values do not match what was given. The savings rate is calculated incorrectly based on the given financial goals, but still usable for the activity.
Annual budget is missing information for income and housing, and the savings rate is calculated incorrectly based on the given financial goals. Goal was not described at all.
Expenditures and Formulas (P1S6, P1S7) (10 points)
Enter all expenditures in the annual budget, use formulas to balance expenditures with income, and use formulas to compute the percentages.
All expenditure cells are populated, all formulas were used correctly, income equals expenditure totals, and all the percentages are populated and accurate.
Most expenditure cells are populated, formulas were used correctly, income equals expenditure totals, and the percentages are populated and mostly accurate.
Most expenditure cells are populated, some formulas were used correctly, income nearly equals expenditure totals, and the percentages are populated and mostly accurate.
Some expenditure cells are populated, formulas were used incorrectly, income does not equal expenditure totals, and the percentages are populated but some are inaccurate.
Not many expenditure cells are populated, formulas were not used, income does not equal expenditure totals, and the percentages are largely missing.
Selecting a Savings Rate (P2Q1) (10 points)
Describe why your selected time frame to reach the savings goal is realistic. (75 words or less)
Clearly describes why the selected time frame is realistic, tightly aligning the rationale to the original goal and the savings rate. Accurately compares savings to other expenditures.
Mostly describes why the selected time frame is realistic, aligning the rationale to the original goal and the savings rate. Compares savings to other expenditures.
Mostly describes why the selected time frame is realistic, loosely aligning the rationale to the original goal and the savings rate. Somewhat compares savings to other expenditures.
Inaccurately describes why the selected time frame is realistic, loosely aligning the rationale to the original goal and the savings rate. Does not discuss the savings rate or any other annual expenditures.
Does not describe why the selected time frame is realistic and does not give any rationale as evidence. Does not discuss the savings rate or any other annual expenditures.
Choosing a Housing Option (P2Q2) (5 points)
Explain your housing choice in terms of the savings goal, your family situation, desired quality of life, and trade-offs. (75 words or less)
Clearly explains the housing choice, tightly aligning the rationale to the savings goal, family goals, and quality of life. Accurately compares housing costs to other expenditures.
Mostly explains the housing choice, aligning the rationale to the savings goal, family goals, and quality of life. Compares housing costs to other expenditures.
Mostly explains the housing choice, loosely aligning the rationale to the savings goal, family goals, and quality of life. Compares housing costs to other expenditures.
Loosely explains the housing choice, but does not align the rationale to the savings goal, family goals, or quality of life. Inaccurately compares housing costs to other expenditures.
Does not clearly explain the housing choice and does not give any rationale as evidence. References to the savings goal, family goals, and quality of life are incoherent. Does not compare housing costs to other expenditures.
Detailing Expenditures (P2Q3) (5 points)
Communicate your process for populating the annual budget with expenditures, and relate the steps you took to reach your selected savings goal. (75 words or less)
Clearly describes the iterative process for populating the savings rate and other expenditures based on embedded, accurate formulas.
Mostly describes the iterative process for populating the savings rate and other expenditures based on embedded, accurate formulas.
Mostly describes the process for populating the savings rate and other expenditures. Leaves out some important technical details.
Loosely describes the process for populating the savings rate and other expenditures. Leaves out many important technical details.
Describes an invalid process for populating the savings rate and other expenditures. Provides no technical details.
Applying Productivity Strategies (P2Q4) (10 points)
Compare your finished budget to your original productivity plan, give reasons for taking a step-by-step approach, and relate strategies used back to the course content. (150 words or less)
Provides vivid examples of how the finished budget aligns to the original productivity plan and gives strong reasons for taking an iterative approach. References to course content are thorough and on point.
Provides vivid examples of how the finished budget aligns to the original productivity plan and gives acceptable reasons for taking an iterative approach. References to course content are acceptable.
Provides acceptable examples of how the finished budget aligns to the original productivity plan but gives weak reasons for taking an iterative approach. References to course content need improvement.
Provides acceptable examples of how the finished budget aligns to the original productivity plan but gives weak reasons for taking an iterative approach. References to course content are incoherent.
Provides weak examples of how the finished budget aligns to the original productivity plan. Gives no supporting evidence for the chosen approach. References to course content are missing.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
· Abide by the word count limits where applicable. No answer should exceed 150 words.
· Use a readable 11-point font.
· All writing and data entries must be appropriate for an academic context.
· Writing must be original and customized for this assignment.
· Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
· Submission must include your name and the date.
· Include all the assignment components in a single file.
· Acceptable file formats include .xls and .xlsx.
Sheet1
| ECON1010 Taking Charge of Your Economic Future | Name: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit 2 Touchstone Template | Date: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ANNUAL BUDGET | Note: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amount | Percent | To increase the height of a row, hover over the bottom border of that row in the far left margin until your cursor becomes and up-down arrow. Then click and drag the bottom border to the desired row height. If you make an error, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Z to undo it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income | $50,000 | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenditure | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Housing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Food | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transportation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Health Care | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Care | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Savings | Savings Goal: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PART 1: CREATING A PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLAN | PART 2: REFLECTION QUESTIONS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SCENARIO: Imagine that you are in a position where you need to move—this could be because of a change in job, a need to modify your living arrangements, or something else. In addition to searching for different housing, you want to begin saving for a specific financial goal. | QUESTION 1. In step 4, you selected a time frame to achieve your savings goal. How can you tell that the time frame you chose is realistic? Explain. | Your Answer (75 words or less): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STEP 1: Think about the productivity strategies you’ve learned in this course. Make a mental plan for how you will break down creating your financial plan into smaller steps. Think about ways you can stay organized and be productive. With your ideas in mind, move on to step 2. | QUESTION 2. In step 5, you selected a housing option. Explain the reasons for your housing choice in terms of the following: • The time frame needed to achieve your savings goal • Your family’s anticipated living arrangements • Your desired quality of life • Any trade-off decisions • Other |
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| STEP 2: Choose an annual income as a starting point for your financial plan and insert the value in the ANNUAL BUDGET above. Select from the following: • Use the provided annual income of $50,000. • Use your current annual income. • Use the average (or median) income of a career that you’re interested in. Consider doing a quick online search. |
QUESTION 3. In step 6, you entered more annual expenditures into the budget. A. What process did you use to make those choices? B. How do your expenditures align with the financial goal you selected? |
Your Answer (75 words or less): A. B. |
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| STEP 3: Choose a financial goal you would like to save for. It can be a short-term goal (1 to 2 years) or a long-term goal (more than 2 years). You’ll use this value in step 4. Select from the following: • Create an emergency fund of $1,000. • Save for a vacation that will cost $2,000. • Save to buy a $15,000 vehicle. • Save for a down payment of $40,000 to buy a house. • Save $50,000 for education for you, a spouse, or a child. |
QUESTION 4. In step 1, you thought about productivity strategies that you might use to break your annual budget into smaller steps for staying organized and productive. A. How closely did you follow the plan that you thought about? B. How does a step-by-step and organized approach help you adjust priorities in a financial plan? C. How did creating the annual budget draw from productivity strategies that you learned in this course? |
Your Answer (150 words or less): A. B. C. |
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| STEP 4: Now set a realistic time frame (in years) for reaching the goal in step 3. The recommended range is one to 10 years. This will yield a required rate of savings: • To understand your savings rate ($ per year), divide your financial goal by the number of years you plan to save for it. • Enter the result in the Savings cell of the ANNUAL BUDGET. • Briefly describe your overall savings goal and the time to achieve it next to the ANNUAL BUDGET in the space provided. |
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| STEP 5: Choose a housing cost (rent or mortgage) and enter the amount in the Housing cell of the ANNUAL BUDGET. Select from the following: • Pay an annual mortgage of $15,000 per year. • Rent an apartment for $12,000 per year. • Rent a room only for $9,000 per year. • Use your current annual rent or mortgage. |
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| STEP 6: Fill in the other expenditure amounts in the ANNUAL BUDGET according to your preferences. Do some online research, if necessary. For this exercise, be sure to use all the income that you designated ($50,000 or otherwise). Look ahead to step 7 to see how you can use formulas to help you balance your budget as you work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STEP 7: Your ANNUAL BUDGET may or may not be balanced. To check, do the following: • Enter a formula to calculate your total expenditures. Adjust your expenditures until the total equals your annual income. • Next, enter formulas in the percent column to calculate each expenditure as a percentage of the total expenditure. • Finally, using your ANNUAL BUDGET as a reference, complete the REFLECTION QUESTIONS on the right side of this spreadsheet. |
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| Sophia Learning, LLC. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. |
Sheet1
| ECON1010 Taking Charge of Your Economic Future | Name: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit 4 Touchstone Template | Date: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MONTH 1 BUDGET | MONTH 2 BUDGET | MONTH 3 BUDGET | SAVINGS PROGRESS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amount | Percent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income | 100% | $0 | Monthly | Savings | Cumulative Savings | $ to Reach Goal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenditure | Month 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Housing | Month 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Food | Month 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transportation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utilities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Health Care | $400 | Note: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Care | To increase the height of a row, hover over the bottom border of that row in the far left margin until your cursor becomes and up-down arrow. Then click and drag the bottom border to the desired row height. If you make an error, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Z to undo it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | $100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PART 1: ANALYZING YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES | PART 2: REFLECTION QUESTIONS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SCENARIO: Your monthly budget is going through some changes over the next three months. The good news is that your income has increased because of your strong performance at work. However, health care and miscellaneous costs have also gone up. You will need to reallocate your monthly budget based on these changes. The changes are represented by embedded formulas in the MONTHLY BUDGET tables above, located inside the shaded cells. | QUESTION 1: In step 4 and step 6, you created several graphs. Explain the reasons for the graph types that you selected. How will the graphs you created help readers understand the financial data? | Your Answer (150 words or less): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STEP 1: Enter the previous values you obtained from the Unit 2 Touchstone into the MONTH 1 BUDGET. Important: Before you do, be sure to divide each dollar amount by 12. Remember, the Unit 2 Touchstone was an annual basis while this Touchstone is a monthly basis. If you no longer have the previous values, create new ones. Remember to start by entering your income and be sure the MONTH 1 BUDGET balances. | QUESTION 2: Explain the results of your financial analysis in steps 1-6 in terms of the following: • Overall progress toward your savings goals • Changes you might make to the budget to improve progress in the coming months • Economic or life impacts that may affect your budget in the future |
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| STEP 2: Now create your MONTH 2 BUDGET and your MONTH 3 BUDGET above. Do not change the predetermined costs for Health Care in the second month or Miscellaneous in the third month. Do not modify the income in either month. Remember that your monthly income must equal your monthly expenditures (including savings). Look ahead to step 3 to see how you can use formulas for proper balancing. | QUESTION 3: Assume that your income continues to grow, but consumer prices also rise due to inflation. Determine how economic factors like these might affect your financial analysis one year from now: A. What economic trends might you need to account for when making a one-year projection? B. How might you plan for unexpected expenses when making a one-year projection? |
Your Answer (150 words or less): A. B. |
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| STEP 3: Your MONTH 2 BUDGET and your MONTH 3 BUDGET may or may not be balanced. To check, do the following: • Enter a formula to calculate your total expenditures. Adjust your expenditures until the total equals your monthly income. • Next, enter formulas in the percent column to calculate each expenditure as a percentage of the total expenditure. |
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| STEP 4: Using the tools in Excel, make a graph for each of the three budgets to show your spending allocation. You may use a pie chart, column chart, bar chart, or some other graph type. Review the tutorial in Unit 1 called Data Visualization if you need a refresher on graphing. If your embedded graphs block your view, move them off the work area, either downward or to the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STEP 5: Fill in the table for SAVINGS PROGRESS located at the top right of this spreadsheet: • Enter your monthly savings from steps 1-4. The cumulative savings column will calculate automatically. • Recall your total savings goal from the Unit 2 Touchstone. In the last column, record how much more money you need to save in order to reach your goal. • If you can’t recall your savings goal, create a new one so you’re able to complete the table. |
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| STEP 6: Using the tools in Excel, make a graph that shows your incremental progress toward your savings goal based on the data in the SAVINGS PROGRESS table: • Select a graph type that best illustrates your progress. Move the graph off the work area if it obstructs your view. • Finally, using steps 1-6 as a reference, complete the REFLECTION QUESTIONS on the right side of this spreadsheet. |
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| Sophia Learning, LLC. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. |
Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
One way to check your progress towards your financial goals is to conduct a personal financial analysis. This will help you see how well you have stayed on track with your finances over time. Using technology can help you stay organized and help you visualize financial data, uncover trends, and effectively communicate your findings.
Your goal for this Touchstone is to build your confidence with technology. Using Microsoft Excel, you will organize three monthly budgets, visualize the data using graphs, and discuss the results. You’ll begin with the budget you created in Excel in the Unit 2 Touchstone. There are many types of technologies available for personal or professional use that can analyze and display personal financial data. Your experience with Excel spreadsheets in this course is a skill you can apply to other technology tools in your life and career. If you need a refresher on spreadsheets, review the tutorials in Unit 1, Challenge 3 of this course (Links are in Section D).
Touchstone 4: Analyzing Your Personal Finances
SCENARIO: Three months have passed since you created your first financial plan (i.e., the Unit 2 Touchstone). In that time, your budget has gone through some changes. The good news is that your income has increased because of your strong performance at work. However, health care and miscellaneous costs have gone up along with your earnings. You will need to reallocate your monthly budget based on these changes to see how you’re progressing toward your original savings goal.
While you appreciate numbers and figures, you also know that a strong financial analysis needs visual information. As part of your progress check, you’ve committed to creating a set of graphs that you can share with your financial advisor.
ASSIGNMENT: This assignment has two parts. In part 1, you will analyze personal finance data based on the scenario described above. You’ll use your problem solving and agility skills to balance three monthly budgets, and you’ll use your technology skill to graph the spending allocations in each of them. Finally, you’ll sharpen all three skills as you calculate and graph the progress you’re making toward your original savings goal.
In part 2, you will answer reflection questions about the decisions you made, identify how to create more savings opportunities, and make predictions about life and economic impacts that could affect the future of your plan.
For this assignment, you will:
· Create three monthly budgets and perform a personal financial analysis using Microsoft Excel.
· Summarize changes in expenditures between budgets.
· Show the results of the analysis using appropriate graphs in Excel.
· Explain how the graph types you have selected will help your financial advisor understand the data.
· Discuss the results of the financial analysis including savings achievements, future budget modifications, and life impacts that could derail the budget in the coming year.
· Reflect on what the analysis might reasonably look like in one year, accounting for economic factors such as inflation and the consumer price index.
Download the Excel template below, which further breaks down the steps involved in this assignment
.
You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission.
Assignment Template
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the lists below throughout the assignment. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Analyzing Your Personal Finances
❒ Have you populated the tables for Month 1, Month 2, and Month 3 with your budgeting information?
❒ Have you verified that all amounts are displayed on a monthly (not annual) basis?
❒ Have you verified that the sum of your expenditures (including savings) equals your employment income?
❒ Have you populated the Savings Progress table?
❒ Have you selected the most effective graph type for each of your data sets?
❒ Have you left all predetermined formulas intact?
2. Reflection Questions
❒ Have you directly answered each question that was asked?
❒ Have you provided sufficient evidence to support each of your answers?
❒ Have you made clear and logical connections between your conclusions and the data used in the financial analysis?
❒ Have you leveraged content from the course tutorials about economic factors?
❒ Have you included sufficient detail in your answers?
B. Rubric
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Acceptable (75%)
Needs Improvement (50%)
Non-Performance (0%)
Building Monthly Budgets (P1S1-P1S3) (20 points)
Create balanced budgets for Month 1, Month 2, and Month 3 using Excel’s formula feature and supplied data.
All formulas are correct, income equals total expenditures, percentages are complete, and supplied data has been integrated. All values are realistic, and all units are displayed.
Most formulas are correct, income equals total expenditures, percentages are mostly complete, and supplied data has been integrated. Most values are realistic, and all units are displayed.
Some formulas are correct, income equals total expenditures, percentages are nearly complete, and supplied data has been integrated. Over half of the values are realistic, but not all units are displayed.
Formulas were not used, income equals total expenditures, percentages are incomplete, and supplied data is missing. Only some values are realistic, but all units are displayed.
Formulas were not used, income does not equal total expenditures, percentages are left blank, and supplied data is missing. Few values are realistic, and units are not displayed.
Creating Visuals (P1S4, P1S6) (20 points)
Graph expenditures for Month 1, Month 2, and Month 3, and graph the rate of savings over these three months.
All graphs are representative of the data tables and the axes are correctly labeled. The most effective graph type was chosen in all instances and cumulative savings shows an upward trend.
Three to four graphs are representative of the data tables and the axes are correctly labeled. The most effective graph type was chosen in three to four instances and cumulative savings shows an upward trend.
Two to three graphs are representative of the data tables and the axes are correctly labeled. The most effective graph type was chosen in two to three instances and cumulative savings shows an upward trend.
One to two graphs are representative of the data tables, but the axes are not labeled. The most effective graph type was chosen in one to two instances and cumulative savings shows an upward trend.
The graphs are not representative of the data tables and the axes are not labeled. The most effective graph type was chosen in only one instance and cumulative savings is trending incorrectly.
Measuring Savings Progress (P1Q3, P1Q4) (15 points)
Populate the Savings Progress table with savings per month, cumulative savings, and monthly shortages.
All the values for monthly savings match their respective data tables and monthly shortages are fully consistent with the original savings goal. Embedded formulas are present and accurate.
All the values for monthly savings match their respective data tables and monthly shortages are mostly consistent with the original savings goal. Embedded formulas are present and mostly accurate.
Two to three of the values for monthly savings match their respective data tables and monthly shortages are mostly consistent with the original savings goal. Embedded formulas are present and somewhat accurate.
One to two of the values for monthly savings match their respective data tables but monthly shortages are not consistent with the original savings goal. Embedded formulas are present but inaccurate.
Zero to one of the values for monthly savings matches its respective data table but monthly shortages are not consistent with the original savings goal. Embedded formulas are not present.
Choosing Graph Types (P2Q1) (15 points)
Give reasons for the graph types you selected for displaying expenditures and the savings rate. (150 words or less)
Rationale for choosing each graph type is thorough, evidence-based, and tightly connected to the tutorial content from the course.
Rationale for choosing each graph type is mostly coherent, somewhat evidence-based, and largely connected to the tutorial content from the course.
Rationale for choosing each graph type is somewhat coherent and evidence-based, but only loosely connected to the tutorial content from the course.
Rationale for choosing each graph type is somewhat coherent and evidence-based, but no connections have been made to the tutorial content from the course.
Rationale for choosing each graph type is incoherent, evidence is nonexistent, and no connections have been made to the tutorial content from the course.
Analyzing Results (P2Q2) 15 points)
Explain the results of your financial analysis in terms of progress, improvements, and anticipated derailments. (150 words or less)
Description of savings progress is exceptional, improvement plans are logical and attainable, and derailments are closely tied to real-world economic factors.
Description of savings progress is well-written, improvement plans are logical and attainable, and derailments are largely tied to real-world economic factors.
Description of savings progress is acceptably written, improvement plans are logical and mostly attainable, and derailments are only loosely tied to real-world economic factors.
Description of savings progress is acceptably written, improvement plans are logical but not attainable, and derailments are only loosely tied to real-world economic factors.
Description of savings progress is poorly written, improvement plans are illogical, and derailments are not tied to real-world economic factors.
Anticipating Economic Projections (P2Q3) (15 points)
Looking ahead one year, describe how economic factors might impact the financial analysis and how you might plan for them. (150 words or less)
The economic factors chosen are based on reality and tightly connected to the tutorial content from the course. The one-year plan is described clearly, is attainable, and is entirely logical based on the economic factors described.
The economic factors chosen are based on reality and largely connected to the tutorial content from the course. The one-year plan is described clearly, is attainable, and is mostly logical based on the economic factors described.
The economic factors chosen are mostly based on reality and sufficiently connected to the tutorial content from the course. The one-year plan is described sufficiently, is attainable, and is mostly logical based on the economic factors described.
The economic factors chosen are loosely based on reality and somewhat connected to the tutorial content from the course. The one-year plan is described sufficiently but is not attainable or logical, based on the economic factors described.
The economic factors chosen are not based on reality and are not connected to the tutorial content from the course. The one-year plan is described poorly, is not attainable, and is illogical based on the economic factors described.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
· Abide by the word count limits where applicable. No answer should exceed 150 words.
· Use a readable 11-point font.
· All writing and data entries must be appropriate for an academic context.
· Writing must be original and customized for this assignment.
· Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
· Submission must include your name and the date.
· Include all the assignment components in a single file.
· Acceptable file formats include .xls and .xlsx.
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