Course Description

This is a course that teaches you the core basics of managing your personal finances. It is very important, especially in the recent economy, to have an understanding of how to manage assets and budget properly. This course addresses problems in personal finance including financial planning, personal investing, budgeting, financing ,and credit management. This online course is intended for anyone who wants to learn about personal finance. This is a 5 week, self-paced, online course. If you need additional help understanding the material presented, you can communicate with the instructor and fellow classmates. The instructor will monitor and track your progress throughout the class. LVS Online offers many wonderful learning tools to help you get the most out of your online course, including an online portfolio service that manages all your course registrations, certificate of completion option, a class discussion board to interact with your instructor and fellow classmates, free hosting account, and a student upload area. LVS is a Corel Training Partner. LVS students may purchase Corel products at a significant savings. Follow this link for details. LVS students are eligible to receive software and hardware at a discount. Follow this link for details. Students are also eligible take advantage of special offers made available specifically for LVS by famous software developers such as Andromeda, AV Bros, Extensis, Harry Heim, namesuppressed, Nik Multimedia, and Ulead. Details are provided in the classinfo link found in the confirmation of registration. Show off your LVS Online spirit with an item from the LVS Store Visit the LVS Blog for updates. If you would like to receive more information regarding this course, click on the "Contact Us" link in the Information section and we'll try to answer any of your questions within the day.

Course Requirements

Willingness to learn, understanding of basic math, calculator and basic understanding of Microsoft Excel or equivalent (OpenOffice,etc). Students must have a working knowledge of their operating system, especially: How to create and name new folders How to locate files How to open and save files Here are a few free tutorials available at LVS which may be helpful to you: PC Users: Free Windows Class Directory Structure Tutorial Mac Users: Basic Computer File Systems Tutorial (Mac) Homework must be reviewed by the instructor in order to earn a certificate. If applicable, students have the option of using either the Student Upload Area or free web hosting made available for LVS students. Details are provided in the classroom. If you prefer to use your own web space, you must know how to upload your files to a server. Free tutorials are available: Basic HTML Page WS_FTP All lessons are available in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view/print the lessons. Plan to devote 2 - 3 hours per week on the lesson and assignment.

Course Prerequisites

None

Course Syllabus

Lesson 1 Understanding Financial Planning Components of a Financial Plan Developing a Financial Plan Lesson 2 Importance of Personal Financial Statements Creating Personal Cash Flow Statement Creating Personal Balance Sheet Creating a budget Lesson 3 Money Market Investments Risk of Money Market Investments Lesson 4 Assessing and Securing your Credit Credit Bureaus Identity Theft Lesson 5 Managing Your Credit Credit Cards Tips on using Credit Cards Lesson 6 Loans and Home Purchasing Home Equity Loans Car Loans Purchasing and Financing a Home Types of Mortgages Own vs. Rent

Course Excerpt

Lesson 1 Part 1: An Introduction to Financial Planning Personal financial planning is the process of improving your financial health by planning your finances, specifically, investing, financing and spending. A personal financial plan helps you list your financial goals and helps you plan your spending and investing in order to achieve your financial goals. Poor financial management can lead to bankruptcy. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S Courts (http://www.uscourts.gov/bnkrpctystats/bankruptcystats.htm), by June 30, 2008, over 900,000 people filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. In 2009, during the same time period, more than 1 million people filed for bankruptcy. There is no guarantee that an unexpected event will not push an individual into bankruptcy, but financial planning will help you make decisions that will improve your financial situation. Personal Finance and Financial Advisors Personal financial planning helps you understand the opportunity cost of financial decisions (Essentially, what you forgo as a result of the decision). For example, making a decision to save $50 a month means that you are giving up an additional $50 that could be used for a shopping trip. It is all a matter of personal judgment and what your financial goals are. Some people prefer to seek the advice of financial advisors. If you choose to seek out financial advisors, it is important to know that sometimes, their fees or bonuses, might affect the kind of advice they give you. Some knowledge of personal finance can help you determine the quality of the advice you are receiving. For example, a financial advisor might tell you that investing $250 in the stock market is a good way to go and he/she might guarantee you a 25% return on certain stocks. However, the advisor s fees are 15% of your investment. If you have some sort of knowledge about personal finance, you will know that no investment (especially one as risky as the stock market) c guarantee returns of any amount. Components of a Financial Plan A financial plan has numerous components; however, we will focus on core four areas: Budgeting Liquidity Financing, and Protecting assets and income Continued... Please note: Lessons provide step-by-step instructions with detailed screen captures.

Course Goals

The goal of personal finance is not to turn you into a finance whiz, but to give you the tools to make better finance decisions. At the end of the lesson, students will be empowered to solve real world problems using skills learnt from the class.

Course Reviews

New Class March 2010 More...