Studyportal

Question 1: Assigned Readings:

Chapter 1. Understanding the Financial Planning Process

Chapter 2. Using Financial Statements and Budgets

Initial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.

Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:

1. Read and think about the choices being made. Do you agree or not? Also discuss the choices being made.No Budget, No Plan: Mason Bought a Boat!Mason is 28 and has a good job as a sales rep. He’s always found budgeting boring and has been intending to start a financial plan for years.Recently, Mason went out with some friends on a rented boat to fish. He had a great time and saw a boat sale on his way home. Before he knew it, the salesman convinced Sean that the deal was just too good to pass up. So Mason bought a $10,000 boat and financed 80 percent of the cost for the next 5 years. Sean now finds himself relying more on his credit card to get by each month.What if Mason had kept track of his money, used a budget, and had a set of financial goals? Knowing where his money went and having a financial plan would have increased the chance that Mason would make more deliberate, informed financial decisions.

[Your post must be substantive and demonstrate insight gained from the course material. Postings must be in the student’s own words – do not provide quotes!]

[Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]

Submitting the Initial Posting:Your initial posting should be completed by Thursday, 11:59 p.m. EST.

Response to Other Student Postings: Respond substantively to the post of at least two peers, by Friday, 11:59 p.m. EST. A peer response such as “I agree with her,” or “I liked what he said about that” or similar comments are not considered substantive and will not be counted for course credit.

[Continue the discussion through Sunday,11:59 p.m. EST by highlighting differences between your postings and your colleagues’ postings. Provide additional insights or alternative perspectives]

Evaluation of posts and responses: Your initial posts and peer responses will be evaluated on the basis of the kind of critical thinking and engagement displayed. The grading rubric evaluates the content based on seven areas:

Content Knowledge & Structure, Critical Thinking, Clarity & Effective Communication, Integration of Knowledge & Articles, Presentation, Writing Mechanics, and Response to Other Students.

Question 2:

Cameron’s Dilemma: Finding a New Job

Cameron Foster, a 55-year-old retail store manager earning $85,000 a year, has worked for the same company during his entire 30-year career. Cameron was recently laid off and is still unemployed 10 months later, and his severance pay and 6 months’ unemployment compensation have run out. Because he has consistently observed careful financial planning practices, he now has sufficient savings and investments to carry him through several more months of unemployment.

Cameron is actively seeking work but finds that he is overqualified for available lower-paying jobs and underqualified for higher-paying, more desirable positions. There are no openings for positions equivalent to the manager’s job he lost. He lost his wife several years earlier and is close to his two grown children, who live in the same city.

Cameron has these options:

Wait out the recession until another retail store manager position opens up.

Move to another area of the country where store manager positions are more plentiful.

Accept a lower-paying job for two or three years and then go back to school evenings to finish his college degree and qualify for a better position.

Consider other types of jobs that could benefit from his managerial skills.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What important career factors should Cameron consider when evaluating his options?

2. What important personal factors should Cameron consider when deciding among his career options?

3. What recommendations would you give Cameron in light of both the career and personal dimensions of his options noted in Questions 1 and 2?

4. What career strategies should today’s workers employ in order to avoid Cameron’s dilemma?

Question 3:

Cora Hamilton recently graduated from college and moved to Charlotte to take a job as a market research analyst. She was pleased to be financially independent and was sure that, with her $45,000 salary, she could cover her living expenses and have plenty of money left over to furnish her studio apartment and enjoy the wide variety of social and recreational activities available in Charlotte. She opened several department-store charge accounts and obtained a bank credit card.

For a while, Cora managed well on her monthly take-home pay of $2,893, but by the end of 2020, she was having trouble fully paying all his credit card charges each month. Concerned that her spending had gotten out of control and that she was barely making it from paycheck to paycheck, she decided to list her expenses for the past calendar year and develop a budget. She hoped not only to reduce her credit card debt but also to begin a regular savings program.

Cora prepared the following summary of expenses for 2020:

Item	Annual Expenditure
Rent	$12,000
Auto insurance	1,855
Auto loan payments	3,840
Auto expenses (gas, repairs, and fees)	1,560
Clothing	3,200
Installment loan for stereo	540
Personal care	424
Phone	600
Cable TV	440
Gas and electricity	1,080
Medical care	120
Dentist	70
Groceries	2,500
Dining out	2,600
Furniture purchases	1,200
Recreation and entertainment	2,900
Other expenses	600

After reviewing her 2020 expenses, Cora made the following assumptions about her expenses for 2020:

1. All expenses will remain at the same levels, with these exceptions:

1. Auto insurance, auto expenses, gas and electricity, and groceries will increase 5 percent.
2. Clothing purchases will decrease to $2,250.
3. Phone cable TV will increase $5 per month.
4. Furniture purchases will decrease to $660, most of which is for a new television.
5. She will take a one-week vacation to Utah in July, at a cost of $2,100.

2. All expenses will be budgeted in equal monthly installments except for the vacation and these items:

1. Auto insurance is paid in two installments due in June and December.
2. She plans to replace the brakes on her car in February, at a cost of $220.
3. Visits to the dentist will be made in March and September.

3. She will eliminate her bank credit card balance by making extra monthly payments of $75 during each of the first six months.

4. Regarding her income, Cora has just received a small raise, so her take-home pay will be $3,200 per month.

Critical Thinking Question

1. Prepare a preliminary cash budget for Cora for the year ending December 31, 2020, using the format shown in Worksheet 2.3.
2. Compare Cora’s estimated expenses with her expected income and make recommendations that will help her balance her budget.
3. Make any necessary adjustments to Cora’s estimated monthly expenses and revise her annual cash budget for the year ending December 31, 2021, using Worksheet 2.3.
4. Analyze the budget and advise Cora on her financial situation. Suggest some long-term, intermediate, and short-term financial goals for Cora, and discuss some steps she can take to reach them.