Anisha Patel, Period 1

The Cost of Living on Your Own: St. Louis, Missouri

The cost of living on your own project was very helpful in determining how much money I need

to make and save upon graduating from college. My partner and I randomly chose the city of St. Louis in

Missouri where I had an annual salary of $40,000. At the beginning of the project, I believed that I would

be able to save most of my money and still be left with a large amount of my income. As my partner and

I completed our taxation forms and figured out the federal income that would be deducted from my

salary, I realized that I would have to focus on how much I spend and save. After I completed the

apartment, healthcare, transportation, utilities, and food costs, it was apparent that my money supply

was decreasing. I had to make sure that I didn’t waste money on extracurricular activities and spent

most of the remaining income on necessities. Even though I had to watch my money supply, I was still

able to spend some of my money on extracurricular activities, like travel and vacation,

After completing this project, I learned that it is a necessity to learn how to spend my money

wisely. Most of my money went into the things that were mandatory, like taxes, food, utilities,

transportation, and housing costs. Even though I was given a $40,000 salary, it didn’t mean at all that I

had all that money to spend on anything that I wanted. In the future when I graduate from college, have

a job, and live on my own, I will already be prepared to determine how much of my money will go into

taxes and other required items. Also, I will be able to know what is necessary for me to spend the

remaining money from my income on, and what amount of that money to spend on leisurely activities

that I would like to participate in. This project was very useful in learning how to fill out tax forms like

the 1040EZ and also find the best insurance/healthcare costs as well as the cheapest utilities rates. It

was also very interesting to realize how I was able to portion out my food meals so I would be spending

a reasonable amount of my income every week. Overall, this project had a positive impact on the way I

will determine costs in the future and understand the necessity of saving my money supply.