The car costs $4,500. The car, plus tax, plates, an inspection and a year of actually running it, costs $9,547 — and nobody tells a teenager that until the money is gone. This planner prices the whole thing before the first paycheck is spent: set the car’s target price and the date you want the keys, and it works out the weekly number; set your job pay and the share of each paycheck the car gets, and it tells you — honestly — whether the two meet.
What it does for you:
– The gap, in dollars per week: the sample plan needs $128.33/week for a June 1 buy date; a $185 paycheck at 60% to the car saves $111.00 — Short by $17.33/week, stated on the planner, with the buy date your real pace actually reaches (July 5) instead of a fantasy.
– The first year, priced: one-time extras at purchase (tax & title $340, registration $115, inspection & fixes $260 = $715) and monthly running costs (insurance $148, fuel $120, maintenance, parking, supplies = $361/month) roll into a FIRST-YEAR TRUE COST next to the sticker price.
– An all-in weekly number too: covering the car AND its first year takes $296.57/week over the same 30 weeks — see it before you commit to a car you cannot afford to run.
– Progress that stays visible: % of the car price already saved, weeks left, and a status line that flips to On track the week your savings rate catches the plan.
– A real spending picture around it: the zero-based Monthly Budget tracks the Car Fund transfer and everyday spending together, so the plan survives contact with real weeks.
What’s inside (.xlsx, works in Excel AND Google Sheets):
– Start Here — plain-English setup + your settings (car price, saved, dates, weekly pay, % to the car)
– True Cost Planner — still to save, weeks left, weekly needed (price and all-in), your pace, shortfall, real buy date
– First-Year Costs — one-time extras and monthly running costs with totals that feed the planner
– Expense Log — everyday spending, categorized
– Monthly Budget — zero-based, Budget vs Actual fills itself
– Dashboard — the whole car plan on one screen
– Monthly Summary — spending by month, Jan–Dec
Instant download. Yellow cells are yours to type in; every formula cell is locked (password sheetdaily, shown in Start Here) so nothing breaks by accident. A sample plan is pre-filled so you can see the pace math working — replace it with your own car.
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