NEW PERSONAL FINANCE COURSE FOR SPRING 2018
This spring, Professor Jonathan Clarke in the Scheller College of Business is piloting a new 4000-level GT special topics course in personal finance. This resulted from many conversations about this topic with SGA and other related areas.
Personal Finance, GT 4801
Friday 10:10-11; CoB Room 221
Enrollment Maximum: 50
1 credit
From the syllabus:
A 2017 report by MarketWatch found that half of all households in the U.S. live paycheck to paycheck, while 31% have less than $500 in emergency savings. The same study found that 49% of Americans are “concerned, anxious, or fearful about their current financial well-being.” The average credit card debt of households is $16,748.
This course will teach personal financial management skills with a focus on investing at an early age and repaying debt promptly to avoid interest charges. Specific topics that will be covered include: an overview of the financial planning process, goal-setting, cash flow management, income taxes, banking, credit and debt, insurance (all types), the time value of money and compound interest, investing, renting and home buying, and retirement planning.
The course is designed to encourage the application of financial planning concepts. Students will be able to directly apply what they have learned to their future lives in order to become successful financially.
Learning objectives:
- Apply time value of money principles
- Prepare a personal budget and a financial plan
- Plan for their college education and career
- Manage cash and savings
- Use credit wisely
- Select appropriate types of insurance policies
- Plan for home ownership and understand types of mortgages
- Develop an investment plan for the future
- Understand the concepts of risk and return
- Develop a plan to save for retirement while minimizing taxes and investment fees
