Write a paragraph describing the average salary for a high-school graduate with no further education who works in the geographical area you wish to reside in after graduation.

Financial literacy is the confluence of financial, credit, and debt management knowledge that is necessary to make financially responsible decisions – choices that are integral to our everyday lives. During this course, you will complete a write-up by reflecting on your future career plans after graduation. You will research your starting salary and monthly expenses pertaining to the desired location. You will learn how to construct a personal budget and apply a financial literacy formula to find the compound amount in a savings account.
This Signature Assignment assesses the following skills in addition to your knowledge of the Financial Literacy material.
Critical Thinking Skills – to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information.
Communication Skills – to include effective development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication.
Empirical and Quantitative Skills – to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.
The assignment is divided into two sections: the Rough Draft and Budget Worksheet, and the Final Draft which contains the steps to solving a financial literacy question in addition to the work from the Rough Draft and Budget Worksheet.
Paragraph 1: Background
Write a paragraph describing the average salary for a high-school graduate with no further education who works in the geographical area you wish to reside in after graduation. Clearly state the geographical region in your paper. Support this information with at least one source.
Include in your paragraph at least three reasons you are seeking higher education.
Paragraphs 2 & 3: Future considerations
Write a paragraph describing your employment plans after graduation. Address each of the following questions, supporting your factual statements with sources.
What job title will you seek?
Why do you want this job?
What training and education are required for it?
What is the difference between the salary of a high-school graduate and a person in your desired position and location? If you are entering the workforce with no experience, make sure to use the starting salary for your desired position. TIP: Research the salary data from real companies in the desired area instead of searching for “average salary for …”.
Paragraph 4: Developing a Budget
Find three Internet sites that provide budgeting advice. Write a paragraph summarizing this budgeting information, supported by those three sources. You should synthesize the information you find instead of listing off the advice.
Estimate your future bills and complete this budget worksheet. Make sure your budget is balanced. You shouldn’t spend more than you’ll be making! You will attach the budget worksheet in the appendix of your essay. The following research questions will help you to find accurate information. Since the costs vary greatly by the state and country, make sure to research your desired location.
What is the cost of rent? Find the actual apartment complex or housing addition in your desired area to allocate this cost. Make sure to cite the data.
What is the cost of utilities such as internet, phone, cable TV, security systems, water, electricity, natural gas, sewage? Research the actual utility companies in your desired area to calculate these costs. Make sure to cite the data.
What is the cost of transportation? Research the actual gas prices or subway/bus costs in the area. Make sure to cite the data.
What is the cost of healthcare? TIP: Ask 2-3 professional working adults how much they pay towards medical insurance costs per month, limited to an employee with no dependents.
Bibliography
Use APA or MLA format to organize the sources. Purdue Online Writing Lab (Links to an external site.) is a helpful resource for APA/MLA formatting.
Appendix
Include the complete Budget Worksheet template in the appendix.
Essay Guidelines
Convert your four paragraphs and budget worksheet to a single pdf file and upload it to Canvas. You should expect to have about two pages of writing, a bibliography, and an appendix with one page for the budget worksheet. Your rough draft should meet the following formatting guidelines:
Use Times New Roman, size 12 font with multiple spacings set to 1.25. Use traditional one-inch margins.
Type your full name, class, and section in the header.
Use APA or MLA format to organize your essay and sources. You may visit the Writing Center in the Central Library for assistance with your writing. Online sources such as Purdue Online Writing Lab (Links to an external site.) can also be helpful.
Your essay along with the budget sheet must be submitted as a single file.