1. Christopher Wong<br />Period 4<br />6/8/2011<br />Conclusion – Detroit<br />For this project, my partner, Michelle Chan, and I were assigned to live in the city of Detroit. She was given a salary of $60,000 and my salary was $40,000. I chose my occupation to be a graphic designer.<br />This project was a great way to end the year. It truly allowed me to understand what the cost of living really is. Being dependent on my parents and living at home, I knew that beforehand I was oblivious to many of the costs around me. I took it for granted that bills would be paid and never bothered to look up terms such as “deductible,” “PPO,” and “coinsurance,” to name a few. The project forced me to research and understand each category, calculating the different costs within them.<br />I feel more prepared to graduate now than I had originally before this project started. One fear I had looking at college and the general future was the effect my childhood ignorance of the costs around me would have on myself. I never knew how I could possibly keep track of all my bills and not forget about any payments. The very thought of filling out a tax form confused me. All that has changed now. In addition, I learned the value of money and how quickly it can be spent. Twenty-six dollars a day does not seem to be too much, but over a year it adds up to about $9,500. That was almost a third of my disposable income. Again, this process opened my eyes to comprehend things, such as food, that I used to take for granted; controlling spending and organizing how much money goes where is a big deal because money is a huge scarcity.<br />The project fulfilled many ESLR’s, including Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, National/International Awareness, and Personal/Social Development. I feel confident in my ability and awareness to handle complex, real-life problems in finance and day-to-day living.<br />