Worksheet: Cost of Living Worksheet
Your job: Sales Representative
Average Salary: $36,000 annually / $3,000 monthly. Note: these are pre-tax amounts, so your take-home pay will be roughly $2,000 monthly.

Based on your salary, what percentage of your monthly take-home pay will go to each of the following expenses? You will use $2,000 as your total take-home pay for the month.

Instructions: Fill in the last column with the correct percentage. The first one, the apartment, has already been done for you. The apartment is $500/$2000 = .25. So, 25% of your monthly total take-home pay goes towards rent.

ExpenseAmount Paid% of total take-home pay of $2,000 per month
Apartment Rent (1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment)$500/month25%
Car Payment (purchased used 4-door sedan)$250/month
Insurance (renter’s insurance, car insurance, health/dental insurance)$200/month
Gas/Parking$200/month
Groceries$360/month
Utilities (electricity, water, gas, garbage, cable)$80/month
Clothing budget$50/month
Entertainment (movies, eating out, etc.)$50/month
Savings Account$150/month