Buy A House

In this task, you will buy and furnish a house, using a budget of $500,000.

Tasks

1. Using newspapers, the Internet, or estate agencies, find a house that is currently for sale. Make sure you:
   • note the price of the house; and
   • make a copy of the details (number of rooms, type of rooms, size) of the house.
2. Using newspapers, magazines, advertising brochures or the Internet, find furnishings for your new house. You will have to buy:
   • furniture;
   • whitegoods (refridgerator, washing machine, etc.);
   • appliances;
   • curtains and/or blinds;
   • bedding (mattresses, pillows, etc.);
   • crockery, cutlery and kitchenware (plates, cups, can openers, saucepans, etc.) for each room in the house. If possible, cut out the item from the magazine or brochure.
3. Compile all price information into a room-by-room budget. Include a summary table of each room's subtotal, and the final cost.

Questions

1. How much money did you have over?
2. What hard choices did you have to make to stay under budget? How much extra money could you have spent getting bigger or better quality items, if you had the money available to you?
3. What other types of things could you have spent money on (other than those listed above) to “fix up” your house? How much extra money do you think you might have needed?