This series is designed for students interested in improving their own personal finance knowledge and those who want to manage their financial lives more successfully, understand the theoretical frameworks that support personal finance issues and who now or at some point in their career may consider a professional financial advisory role.
Students can complete one module or any combination of the four available modules, course modules are offered individually during the summer and winter semesters, the following schedule will be followed:
COURSE MODULES 1 & 2 – Winter Semesters
COURSE MODULES 3 & 4 – Summer Semesters (July 11 – August 19)
PROFESSOR: Tom Mihok
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
MODULE 1 - PERSONAL FINANCE: IMPORTANT BASICS
First module of four module program. Course provides critical personal finance skills vital in life for financial stability and success. This course is especially useful for mature students with business and professional experience who have a desire to learn about the basics, including gathering necessary information, setting financial goals, implementing strategies to achieve goals and understanding and recognizing opportunity costs. By covering such topics as Time Value of Money, Financial Aspects of Career Planning, Personal Financial Statements, Budgets, and Introduction to Taxes, students will gain a foundation for making sound personal financial decisions useful for the rest of your life. You may take this course alone or with any or all of the four modules in the course. There are no prerequisites.
MODULE 2 - PERSONAL FINANCE: CASH MANAGEMENT
Second module of four module program. Course provides critical personal finance skills vital in life for financial stability and success. This course is especially useful for mature students with business and professional experience who have a desire to learn about cash management including types of financial institutions, using, determining the cost of and choosing a source of credit, making smart purchases of consumer items, determining your housing needs, renting vs. owning, and understanding mortgages. By covering such topics as Cash Management, Savings and Payment Accounts, Consumer Borrowing and Credit, Purchasing Strategies, Warranties, Housing Decisions and Mortgage Strategies, you will gain a foundation for making sound personal financial decisions useful for the rest of your life. You may take this course alone or with any or all of the four modules in the course. There are no prerequisites.
MODULE 3 - PERSONAL FINANCE: INSURANCE, RETIREMENT AND ESTATE PLANNING
Third module of four module program. Course provides critical personal finance skills vital in life for financial stability and success. This course is especially useful for mature students with business and professional experience who have a desire to learn about personal finance risks and a financially-sound way of planning with insurance to provide funds to handle those risks, retirement and estate planning. By covering such topics as Insurance Fundamentals, Health and Personal Insurance, Financial and Living Aspects of Retirement, and Estate Planning, Wills and Estate Taxes, you will gain a foundation for making sound personal financial decisions useful for the rest of your life. You may take this course alone or with any or all of the five modules in the course. There are no prerequisites.
MODULE 4 - PERSONAL FINANCE: INVESTMENTS
Fourth module of four module program. Course provides critical personal finance skills vital in life for financial stability and success. This course is especially useful for mature students with business and professional experience who have a desire to learn about how to choose investments on their own or for their 401(k) plan, risk and returns, building an investment portfolio, passive and active investing, portfolio theory and terms, asset allocation, risk reduction and investment expenses. By covering such topics as Investment Fundamentals, Stocks, Bonds, Mutual, Exchange Traded and other types of Funds, Alternative and Real Estate Investments, you will gain a foundation for making sound personal financial decisions useful for the rest of your life. You may take this course alone or with any or all of the five modules in the course. There are no prerequisites.