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 plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.

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.
D. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
ECON1010 Taking Charge of Your Economic Future
Unit 2 Touchstone Template
Income
Expenditure
ANNUAL BUDGET
Amount
$50,000
Housing
Food
Transportation
Education
Utilities
Taxes
Health Care
Family Care
Miscellaneous
Savings
Total
Name:
Date:
Note:
To increase the height of a row, hover over the b
the far left margin until your cursor becomes and
and drag the bottom border to the desired row h
you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Z to undo it.
Percent
100%
Savings Goal:
PART 1: 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 m
arrangements, or something else. In addition to searching for different housing, you want to begin saving for a specific financ
STEP 1: Think about the productivity strategies you’ve learned in this course. Make a mental plan for how you will break dow
into smaller steps. Think about ways you can stay organized and be productive. With your ideas in mind, move on to step 2.
STEP 2: Choose an annual income as a starting point for your financial plan and insert the value in the ANNUAL BUDGET abov
• 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.
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
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 $50,000 for education for you, a spouse, or a child.
STEP 4: Now set a realistic time frame (in years) for reaching the goal in step 3. The recommended range is one to 10 years. T
of savings:
• To understand your savings rate ($ 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.
STEP 5: Choose a housing cost (rent or mortgage) and enter the amount in the Housing cell of the ANNUAL BUDGET. Select fr
• 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.
STEP 6: Fill in the other expenditure amounts in the ANNUAL BUDGET according to your preferences. Do some online researc
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
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 spreads
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of a row, hover over the bottom border of that row in
l your cursor becomes and up-down arrow. Then click
order to the desired row height. If you make an error,
ut Ctrl + Z to undo it.
PLAN
a change in job, a need to modify your living
saving for a specific financial goal.
PART 2: REFLEC
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.
or how you will break down creating your financial plan
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
the ANNUAL BUDGET above. Select from the following:
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?
k online search.
) or a long-term goal (more than 2 years). You’ll use this
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?
range is one to 10 years. This will yield a required rate
ou plan to save for it.
T in the space provided.
ANNUAL BUDGET. Select from the following:
es. Do some online research, if necessary. For this
step 7 to see how you can use formulas to help you
uals your annual income.
e total expenditure.
he right side of this spreadsheet.
PART 2: REFLECTION QUESTIONS
ed a time frame to achieve your Your Answer (75 words or less):
t the time frame you chose is
ed a housing option. Explain the
terms of the following:
eve your savings goal
arrangements
Your Answer (75 words or less):
ed more annual expenditures into Your Answer (75 words or less):
ake those choices?
n with the financial goal you
A.
B.
ht about productivity strategies
annual budget into smaller steps
ive.
Your Answer (150 words or less):
plan that you thought about?
rganized approach help you
?
udget draw from productivity
course?
B.
A.
C.

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