Class Syllabus: Understanding Finances, What I wished I knew at 20 rather than 64!
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Office Hours: |
Are by e-mail
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Course Structure
To take you gently by the hand and set your financial house in order without invading your
privacy. This class is a on-going class, which means you can start it at any time. It is also
a self-study class.
| Your progress is determined by you --- not other students. |
| Your situation and finances determine what steps you take. |
| Assignments are to help you take those steps. |
| You will give me no financial data. |
| Lessons are to motivate and show you how to take the first steps. |
I will attempt to mentor you, expose you to new ideas and methods. Answer your questions
when you have them. I want you to set financial goals. Life has a strange habit of taking
you anywhere if you don't have goals.
You will have up to six months to complete the course. I expect that most students will finish
long before then. Investing will cover stocks and mutual funds. You will set up paper portfolios
to try the class suggestions without risking real money! So you do get to practice and experience
what it maybe like to invest.
The course was designed like I was talking to my children about their questions. If I could go
back in time to age 20, what would I love to know? Children believe that their parents know
everything. Teenagers know that their parent don't know anything about the real world. Young adults
begin to wonder if you did know something about the real world. Suddenly in their adult life they
realize you are smart and intelligent even though you didn't change!
I have found that the Internet has more information than I dreamed of. I will show you web sites
containing financial information. All of these sites will be free to you. In fact, you will mainly use one
site to do your financial portfolios and research. I expect you will find other sites that you like also.
I want you to have patience during the class. You can't make changes all at once. Well, not without
painful mistakes. That I and you don't want.
The class does have an insurance lesson because most people pay more than they should, often for
insurance they don't need. Few people understand what insurance is. When to have it and when not to.
I also cover interest and loans another area that people wind up in trouble about.
Course Requirements
Requirements: - A PC with an Internet connection and browsing software installed such as Opera, Internet Explorer, or Netscape.
- No, books to buy for this course because you will use the Internet as your resource.
- You will use the Yahoo web site for financial graphing, illustrations, and common financial definitions.
- This course is taught in English, so the requirement is to be able to read & write English at a 6 grade level.
- Your enrollment fee provides up to 6 months usage of this course.
- You, not I, are responsible for your success or lack thereof!
- The information provided by me is not warranted or guaranteed to produce profitable results.
- All I can say about the results is that this is what I did that worked over time.
- There is no requirement that you actually trade with real money.
- For the duration of the course you will use funny money. In other words, don't use actual money to practice with.
Objectives: - Be able to find out what different financial terms mean.
- Be able to graph a stock or mutual fund.
- Be able to screen stocks or mutual funds to pick winners
- Develop buy guidelines
- Develop sell guidelines
- Be able to read a financial chart.
- Starting with a paper portfolio of $5000 grow it! Your portfolio can only contain three stocks and three mutual funds. You can buy and sell at any time. These objectives will be expanded upon during the course.
- Major objective is to have $5000 or more at the end of the course.
- Minor objective is to show you how a few methods work.
- Final objective is for you to evaluate which method had the biggest impact on your paper portfolio.
Course Goals
- Correct faulty thinking
- Provide help and motivation for you to take charge of your finances.
- Understanding the role of financial planners
- Establish what needs are versus desires.
- Making a budget.
- Investing Awareness
- Insurance planning
- How to get money.
- Better yet, how to keep money.
- What to invest in.
- Stock Basics
- Mutual Fund Basics
- What financial resources are available on the Internet.
- Provide a taste of investing without risking your hard earned money.
- Develop your common sense with regard to finances.
Course Materials
There are none other than an Internet connection. NO books to buy.
Grading Policy
The course grading policy is based on your completing the lessons, assignments, and tests.
You receive points on the assignments & tests. An average of the tests and assignment exceeding
70% and the completion of all work is the passing requirements for the course. There is no time
requirements other than you enrolled for six months of access to this course for your fee.
You are expected to learn and participate in the course. Your applying of the information in
this course is not a factor in completing the course or determining your class grade. Learn
and understand before you make investments.
I will not tell you specifically what investment are best for your or offer specific
investment advice. The reason is that I am not professional stock broker or registered
financial advisor. Nor will I handle your investments for a fee.
I wish to help you not cause harm or create problems for you. Please e-mail me your questions
and I will try to answer them.
Disclaimer
I am not a:
- Financial Planner
- Stock Broker
- Insurance Agent (Though I did pass my state's insurance exam.)
- Registered Financial Advisor
I do not guarantee the following:
- That you will become rich.
- That this course will be all you need to know.
- That the advice of this course will always work for you.
- That this course will save you money. I expect it to.
- That you will have success in implementing this course in your life.
- The results of your efforts with this course.
- That you won't lose money.
Life provides rewards and failure for risk taking.
Learning Outcomes By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Describe what finances are.
- Describe the impact of education, financial planners, stocks and marriage on finances.
- Identify risky business of finances.
- Describe investment methods..
- Describe what to do with the stock market.
- Describe mutual funds.
- Loans and Interest
- Describe let the fun and games begin, and
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
We're sorry, this course is not open for enrollment.
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