Now that Sam knows what he wants, he needs to know how much money he really has.
Sam first makes a chart like the one below, it has two columns, one that says “Income” and one that says “Expenses”
“Income” is any money that Sam earns this week. am gets $20 every week for his allowance, he also had a birthday and his aunt Mary gave him $15, and his mom gave him an extra $5 for helping Sam’s neighbor to carry in her groceries. These things are all listed under “Income” and Sam writes a note next to each one, so he knows what they are later.
| Income | Expenses |
|---|
|
Allowance $20
| |
|
Birthday Money $15
| |
|
Helping Out $5
| |
Next, Sam writes out his “Expenses,” expenses are any money that Billy has spent during the past week. On Monday Sam bought a candy bar for $1; Wednesday he paid $3 to ride the bus to the zoo; and on Thursday Sam, bought the latest video game he wanted for $35, which he thought was a good deal since it was on sale.
| Income | Expenses |
|---|
Birthday Money $15 | Bus Ride $3 |
|
Helping Out $5 |
Video Game “Number Crunchers III: The Wrath of Pi” $35
|
Sam looks at his chart, and he adds up both columns separately to get his total “Income” and total “Expenses”
| Income | Expenses |
|---|
|
Allowance $20
|
Candy $1
|
|
Birthday Money $15
|
Bus Ride $3
|
|
Helping Out $5
|
Video Game “Number Crunchers III: The Wrath of Pi” $35
|
|
TOTAL: $40
|
TOTAL: $39
|
Sam had a total income of $40 dollars this week, and total expenses of $39; that means he has $1 left.
Make a list of your weekly income and expenses. How much did you have left over?
Contiune on to Step 3: Determine what is “Fixed” and what is “Variable”