Journal

__Roles:__
Mom - Liana - 43 years old Dad - Patrick - 43 years old Twins - Mariah and Jacob - 15 years old Son - Justin - 13 years old Daughter - Andrea - 17 years old

**__Day 1__**
Today we formed our families. There are three boys and three girls. There weren't really any problems with our family. Everyone was cooperative with one another and no one was arguing about their roles. The only thing our group was having a hard time determining was how old everyone should be. We all thought the parents should go to college before they had kids, so they could support the family. None of the kids wanted to be really young or really an older teen, so once we figured out how old everyone should be we all agreed on everything.

**__Day 2__**
Today Patrick and I found our jobs. I am a Nurse Supervisor who earns a salary of $60,000 per year and Patrick is a Surgeon who earns a salary of $180,000 per year. There were't really any problems in our family today, although it was difficult to find jobs in the same area that both of us wanted to do. Also, it was hard to find out how much we were paid, but we found out after doing a bit of research. Our family agreed on the jobs of the Patrick and myself, and our salarys weren't too little, so we would have enough money to support the family and our needs.

Definitions: __Wage:__ Money that is paid or received for work or services, by the hour, day, or week

__Salary:__ A fixed amount of money paid to a person for doing regular work or services.

__1040:__ A form you file annually with IRS.

__Income Tax:__ The main source of money used for the federal government and many states.

__Deduction:__ Expenses that are allowed by IRS the reduce your taxable income.

__Dependent:__ Someone you support that you can claim as an exemption.

__Exemption:__ Taxable income that is a deducted for you, your spouse, and your qualified dependent.

__Payroll Tax:__ Tax that is deducted by the employees pay based on wages, tips, and salaries paid.

__Social Security:__ The practice of providing the economic security and social welfare for people through government programs paid for by public taxations.

__Medicare:__ Government-funded programs that give medical care to people 65 and older an to people who are disabled under the age of 65.

__Gross Pay:__ The total income before any deductions, exemptions, or adjustments.

__Net Pay:__ The total income after any deductions, exemptions, or adjustments.

__**Day 3**__
Today we found out that together Pat and I make about $240,00. That I was happy about, but I didn't realize that we would have to pay about $48,541 of federal tax. That's almost my whole salary, but it's because Pat earns quite a bit. Our family will be happy in the end.

**__Day 4__**
Well, today our family started looking for a house. We found [|this] house that's pretty big and everyone really likes it, so we're most likely going to buy it. We looked at all the other houses in the Milwaukee area that had 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, but nothing compared to this one. There's a little less then half an acre of land, which means we could put an in ground pool in the backyard, which would be fun to have and maybe a slide or a diving board to go with it! There's an attached 3 car garage and a driveway that's pretty big. The neighborhood seems like a friendly place to live. It's not far from where Pat and I work, and the kids wouldn't be far from school which is good.

__Day 5__
Today our family went car shopping! My husband and I both found cars that we really want, and we're probably going to buy, nut not for sure. I want 2004 Acura MDX 40 Sport Utility Car for about $25,000.00 and Pat wants 2006 Ford Fusion for about $16,000.00. We looked at how much it would cost for a in-ground pool and it's about $10,000.00. We all really want one, so sooner or later we will be getting that! We were also looking at Pull behind campers and we found a pull behind that we liked that sleeps all us. Hopefully we can buy it, but first we have to buy what we need. We kind of have to watch what we spend though because there are a lot of things that we want, but won't be able to afford all at once.

__Day 6__
Today our family bought a second car. Pat got a 2003 Dodge Durango that costed about $14,000 and we bought a Acura MDX 40 Sport Utility car for me last week Friday. Pats' car is big enough for the whole family to sit in. It also has enough power to pull a pull behind camper, which is mainly the reason why we bought that car. I can't wait until we get a camper, because it's so fun! Today we also figured out how much it would cost per month for the cars and car insurance. The prices aren't as much as I thought they would be, so that's always good. Also we looked at in-ground pools. They cost about $10,000, which is a lot for a pool, but it would be used quite a bit in summer. We are probably going to get a slide, diving board and all that fun stuff to go with it! There weren't really any problems today because we all just worked together.

**__Day 7__**
Well today our family picked out the plans we wanted for for cell phones, phone, internet, and television. For our cell phones we are using T-Mobile which costs $69.99 per month. For the phone we are using Vonage which costs $24.99. We are combining internet and television into one plan which is at&t that costs about $84.00 a month. The girls really didn't want a t.v. but the guys wanted one to watch sports and all that good stuff, so now we got one. Also everyone in our family has a cell phone except justin because he's not old enough yet, but he could still use the house phone to talk to his friends. Anyways there weren't any problems in our family today, so overall it was good.

__Day 8__
Well, today our family bought our toiletries and on Friday we bought groceries. We figured that it costs about $700.00 per month for groceries. Today was a pretty good day. We worked on our toiletries, and had some weird conversations that had to do with it. We all laughed and had fun while we were working on them though.

__**Day 9**__
Today our family finished deciding what all our miscallenous items are and how much they should cost. It costs more than I expected for all that stuff, but there are six people in our family so it's pretty reasonable. After all the money is taken out for everything we need and are buying, we still have money leftover. We have to do something with it, but I think we should put some more into the kids' college funds, since college itn't cheap. We could also put it in a savings accout, but there are things we could put it towards. We still have to buy our pool, but I'm not sure when we're getting that yet. I'm still not sure if we're going to be getting a camper, because we haven't really been looking at them anymore. That was what our day was like today!

__Day 10__
Today we picked out celebrities that look like each family member. The pictures are going to be used for our viocethread. I am Courtney Cox, Pat is Steve Young, Andrea is Ashley Tisdale, Mariah is Taylor Swift, Jake is Jason Dolley, and Justin is Opie. We also found some pictures of the items we bought and the companies we are through. We all worked together and it was a pretty good day.

__Day 11__
Today we started putting our slideshow together on voicethread. We have all the pictures we need and put them in order. We started recording today but when we recorded we recorded on the first couple pictures and when we watched the slideshow we thought the voice was going to go on the other pictures but no. So tomorrow we have to finish up recording and then turn it in. Our day was good other then that.

__Day 12__
Today we almost have our slideshow done. We only have a couple sentences left to record then we can turn it in. I have to say we all worked really hard together and it was fun to be a part of this family!