Online Personal Finance course (2nd Summer 5 week session) open for enrollment!
The course is FIN 320 and will start on July
21 and run through
August 19
th
– 3 credits in 5 weeks! The course is an introduction to the financial planning
process of setting goals, developing action plans, creating budgets and
measuring results. You will become familiar with the techniques of financial
analyses necessary to make choices when considering housing, insurance,
retirement plans, and borrowing and other personal finance issues.
The course is designed and taught by
me (a
CPA who has practiced personal financial planning for over 30 years). I took a
course like this at Providence College many years ago and it lead me to enter
the financial services field and to eventually achieve the Chartered Financial
Consultant (ChFC) designation and to eventually become a CPA. The course is for
three credits and covers a business elective.
There is no prerequisite and nonbusiness majors are also welcome to
enroll as well as non-UMASS Dartmouth students.
If you are looking to do an internship in the financial services
industry, looking at career paths in insurance, investments, tax planning or
comprehensive financial planning then this is a good course for you.
If you are looking to become more financial
literate, then this is the course for you. Students have told me for over 30
years that this is one course that has an immediate impact on how they manage
their finances and how they will plan going forward.
In the best-selling book, The Millionaire Next Door, the
author Thomas J. Stanley states this simple truth: Whatever your income, always live below your
means.” Such simple advice is not always
easy for the financially illiterate to follow.
This course will help you set goals and to budget to reach your goals
and live within your means. Stanley
says: “The foundation stone of wealth accumulation is defense, and this defense
should be anchored by budgeting and planning.”
Managing your credit, investing wisely, having adequate
insurance, understanding banks, and basic income tax planning are all part of
this course. The course will be
delivered via myCourses and the McGraw-Hill Connect system and culminates with
you pretending to devise a financial plan for a family that needs your
help. I would be happy to send you a sample syllabus.
The course usually fills up quickly but as of today, it is still
open.
Professor Griffin
