REFLECTION 1

Different families handle budgeting and money management in different ways. But the
general goal of a family budget is a yearly, monthly or weekly picture of what you need to
spend and what you have left over.
This topic taught me how to manage my budget and buy things that I need or will use. It
helped me realize that being an adult isn’t easy and that in order for me to have all of the
things I want and need I will have to work hard. This topic helped my outlook on life because
it showed me that things aren’t cheap, such as food, clothes and apartments. I won’t be able
to buy expensive things in fear that I will go over my budget for the month. My lifestyle
would change a lot because I would have to control myself with spending. I would have to
pay attention to how much money I spend a week and I will have to make sure I spend my
money on items that I will use.
Knowing I only have a certain amount of income limits me and the things I could get. My
lifestyle would change because I would become cheap rather than spending my money on
very expensive products. I wouldn’t be shopping at expensive places such as Hollister, Old
Navy, and Macy’s. For food I wouldn’t be shopping at expensive grocery stores. I would be
shopping at Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store. The more money that I will save the less worry I
will have that I will run out of money or go over my budget.
I enjoyed this project because I got to see how the real world is and just how hard things are
going to be. I realize that I will have to work hard, set goals and plan things out in order for
things to go right. I realize now just how difficult it is for my parents to take care of
everything as well as having a social life. This just proves that even if I can take care of
myself, it will be even more difficult to someday take care of a family. I dislike the fact that
in order for me to be able to afford everything I am limited with apartments that I like. I
would rather have a cheap apartment and know I can afford it, than have an expensive one
that I cannot afford. I do not want to live on my own right now because I don’t think I could
handle the pressure of knowing I may or may not have enough money for my bills and my
wants. I also dislike the fact that in order to stay within my budget I will have to manage the
social interactions that I will have. I will also have to find cheaper ways to entertain myself
rather than going to movies, the mall or dates a lot throughout the month.
Overall I am glad because it opened my eyes to how things will be and what I will have to
do in order to have a good future. I will have to work twice as hard because I will have to
pay bills, get through school and make sure I do not go over my budget. I enjoyed this
assignment because even though it is getting me prepared for what is to come, I still got to
make everything my own. I did not have my parents or anyone else influence how I will plan
my future. I got to be independent and focus on myself. This project has prepared me for
my future and all the challenges that will come along with it.
REFLECTION 2
The consumer is an individual who pays some amount of money for the thing required to
consume goods and services. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system
of a nation. Without consumer demand, producers would lack one of the key motivations to
produce: to sell to consumers.

It takes little effort to be a consumer. The simple act of buying a good or service is the only
requirement for entering the club of consumerism, for in the free-market economy the
consumer is a special person. Unlike other economic systems, the free-market economy, in
particular the free-market economy of the United States, caters to the consumer, appealing
to his wants and attempting to satisfy his desires.
Each individual consumer, consciously or unconsciously, determines the fate of the goods
and services on the market each time he chooses one product instead of another. Each
penny that is spent on any one product is the equivalent of an economic vote in favor of
that particular product and against its competitors.
Therefore, a single consumer and his choices are important, for each consumer’s economic
vote, when added to the votes of other consumers, determines which consumer goods will
remain on the market. Obviously, the entrepreneur will not want to manufacture product A
if the consumer does not like product A and prefers to purchase product B.
With the possible exception of the very rich, the individual consumer has limited monetary
resources and must budget his expenditures. How he determines his marginal utility will
determine how much he will spend, how much he will save or invest, and on what he will
make his expenditures.
However, the economy depends upon more than just the consumer being able to buy a rib
roast or a refrigerator when he so chooses. For the consumer lives in an intangible world of
thoughts, ideas, ethics, and morals; and his attitudes toward these cultural aspects of life
influence and determine his philosophies and actions. He is just as obligated to consume
wisely in this intangible world as he is in the material world in which he physically lives.
Thus the reins of the economy lie in the hands of the consumer. And the consumer, because
he is in the driver’s seat, has an obligation to consume wisely. Unfortunately, too many
consumers are either unaware of this obligation or do not take it seriously, if indeed they
even accept the fact that they are obligated to anyone or anything