Personal Finance

Course Content from McGraw-Hill
Course Number: FIN101 Download Course Syllabus
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This course will equip you to plan and manage your financial affairs. It will focus on developing practical methods of organizing your financial information, interpreting your personal financial position and cash flow, setting achievable and worthwhile goals, and implementing actionable plans and risk management techniques to meet those goals. Specific topics to be covered include money management, insurance, and investing.

  • Self Paced
  • Business
  • Content by McGraw-Hill
Online Course
Personal Finance   +$59.00
eTextbook
FIN101 eTextbook (a $75 value)   +$0.00
Proctoring
Proctoring   +$0.00
Tutoring (included)
Credits 3

10/29/14 by brycem

The course was perfectly fine, I felt decently educated and prepared for the tests.

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10/29/14 by brycem

The course was perfectly fine, I felt decently educated and prepared for the tests.

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9/30/14 by kathyw

Very good basic financial information to help students learn to be educated consumers.

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9/30/14 by kathyw

Very good basic financial information to help students learn to be educated consumers.

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9/6/14 by tbecerra

it was structured and clear

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6/16/14 by jsrmar

Glad I will not have to take again.

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6/16/14 by jsrmar

Glad I will not have to take again.

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6/9/14 by tbecerra

it was structured and clear

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9/25/13 by will.s

It was a very well put together course with easy maneuverability throughout the course area.

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9/21/13 by pavin.rakhra

Great course, good basic knowledge, good variety of formats to study from

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9/10/13 by strozierc

It was a review of personal financial needs for day to day living.

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8/7/13 by ryanaschwab

Great overview of the financial industry and personal finance.

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7/8/13 by jarren543

Great course, easy to learn!

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5/2/13 by carora

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5/2/13 by carora

This course provide with a detailed knowledge about managing the finance in day to day life and planning for the retirement.

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4/29/13 by martin0616

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3/25/13 by awebb1198

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1/31/13 by saf613

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1/16/13 by eafowler3

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12/26/12 by a.e.lynn

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12/20/12 by dave

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12/20/12 by dave

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12/6/12 by chrislane125

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12/1/12 by Manonamission366

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11/5/12 by johnnyc

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11/5/12 by johnnyc

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9/23/12 by jh055

I liked going at my own pace

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7/21/12 by michaelkuhn3

I liked the ability to work on my own at my own pace.

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6/18/12 by jh055

I liked going at my own pace

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5/9/12 by slessex

I liked the review activities, because i would do the flash cards and then go into the reading. Afterwards, i went back to the review activities to see what i retained. Very helpful.

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5/6/12 by wlizardi

I liked the review, as it helped me focus on specific aspects of the course for the exams.

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4/30/12 by holly

I liked the test length

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3/10/12 by michelle.beling

It covered multiple facets of personal finance.

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2/20/12 by tdunseith

presentation methodology and exercises

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1/20/12 by michaelkuhn3

I liked the ability to work on my own at my own pace.

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1/13/12 by bg103104

The portion at the end of each chapter called "Getting Personal" was an excellent way to compare a real life scenario to the examples in the book.

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7/31/11 by slessex

I liked the review activities, because i would do the flash cards and then go into the reading. Afterwards, i went back to the review activities to see what i retained. Very helpful.

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7/23/11 by wlizardi

I liked the review, as it helped me focus on specific aspects of the course for the exams.

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7/10/11 by holly

I liked the test length

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5/5/11 by baguilar

 

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5/5/11 by johwilson

 

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5/4/11 by marty80606

 

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5/4/11 by moe77oh

 

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5/4/11 by moe77oh

 

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5/3/11 by moe77oh

 

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5/3/11 by peatri1

 

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5/2/11 by rlin5536

 

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5/2/11 by smeredith65

 

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5/1/11 by ssharkey8

 

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3/12/11 by michelle.beling

It covered multiple facets of personal finance.

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1/26/11 by tdunseith

presentation methodology and exercises

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10/27/10 by bg103104

The portion at the end of each chapter called "Getting Personal" was an excellent way to compare a real life scenario to the examples in the book.

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3/10/09 by baguilar

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3/9/09 by johwilson

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3/8/09 by marty80606

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3/7/09 by moe77oh

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3/6/09 by moe77oh

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3/5/09 by moe77oh

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3/4/09 by peatri1

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3/3/09 by rlin5536

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3/2/09 by smeredith65

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3/1/09 by ssharkey8

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Course Objectives

After completing this online finance course, you will be able to:

  • Identify socioeconomic influences that impact personal financial planning.
  • Create a plan for making personal financial and career decisions.
  • Calculate your taxable income and taxes owed to the IRS.
  • Explain how to obtain disability insurance and describe how it can protect you from loss.
  • Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of three different types of payment methods and give examples.
  • Assess the components of the risk factor one must consider before investing.
  • Calculate the cost of securing a loan and describe how to go about applying for credit.
  • Describe the characteristics of mutual funds investments and classify mutual funds by investment objective.
  • Determine your planned retirement income and develop a balanced budget based on your retirement income.
  • Analyze the personal and legal aspects of estate planning.

Topic Lesson Topic Subtopics Objectives
1 Planning to Succeed
  • A Process for Planning
  • Opportunity Costs
  • The Time Value of Money
  • Setting and Achieving Financial Goals
  • Career Planning

  • Identify the factors that impact personal financial planning.
  • Understand how interest and inflation impact the value of money and purchasing power.
  • Understand financial planning activities and types of financial goals.
  • Develop a set of personal financial goals. Create a plan for making personal financial and career decisions.
  • 2 Money Management
    • Tools for Money Management
    • Measuring Your Personal Finances
    • Effective Budgeting
    • Give examples of three major money-management activities.
    • Create a personal balance sheet and calculate personal cash flow.
    • Develop a workable budget.
    • Create a plan to connect money management techniques and savings to reach a financial goal.
    3 The Certainty of Taxes
    • Types of Taxes
    • Federal Income Tax
    • Filing Your Tax Return
    • Tax Strategies
  • Identify the major types of taxes consumers face.
  • Calculate taxable income and taxes owed to the IRS.
  • Prepare a federal income tax form. Understand how investments and retirement decisions affect income tax.
  • 4 Save as Much as You Can
  • Financial Services
  • Financial Institutions
  • Savings Plans
  • Ways to Pay
  • Compare and contrast the services offered by the major types of financial institutions.
  • Compare and contrast the roles of financial institutions and the overlapping financial services they offer.
  • Describe and assess liquidity and security of various savings options.
  • Describe and evaluate various payment methods and identify key activities necessary to properly manage them.
  • 5 Consumer Credit
  • Credit: the Pros and Cons
  • Types and Sources of Consumer Credit
  • Applying for Credit
  • Managing and Protecting Your Credit

    • Analyze the pros and cons of using consumer credit.
    • Compare and contrast the various types of consumer credit.
    • Calculate the cost of a borrowing and understand how poor credit costs more.
    • Outline a plan for managing your debts.
    • Design a strategy to protect your credit rating.
    6 Buyer Beware!
  • Strategies for Making Major Purchases
  • Buying a Car
  • Satisfaction Guaranteed?


  • Summarize strategies for safe and wise purchasing.
  • Describe the phases of making an informed purchase of an motor vehicle.
  • Devise strategies for resolving various consumer complaints in a variety of scenarios.
  • Evaluate possible legal options to protect your credit.
  • 7 A Place to Call Home
  • Housing Alternatives: Rent or Buy?
  • The Pros and Cons of Renting
  • The Process of Buying a Home
  • Selling Out

  • Evaluate possible housing options.
  • Describe the advantages and disadvantages of renting a residence.
  • Describe five steps to buying and financing a home.
  • Compare and contrast several methods of selling your home and formulate various plans based on statistical data in your area.
  • 8 Protecting your Home and Auto Investment
  • Insurance and Risk Management
  • Property and Liability Insurance
  • Homeowner's Insurance
  • Auto Insurance: Coverage and Cost
  • Identify types of risks and risk management methods and then develop a risk management plan.
  • Assess the insurance coverage and policy types available to owners and renters.
  • Compare coverage and costs of property insurance.
  • Give examples of options for motor vehicle insurance coverage and describe factors that impact cost.
  • 9 Insuring Your Health
  • The High Cost of Health Care
  • Health Insurance Options and Types
  • Sources of Health Insurance and Health Care
  • Disability Insurance
  • Explain why health insurance is necessary and analyze the costs and benefits of various types of health insurance coverage.
  • Define major provisions and trade-offs of different health care plans.
  • Compare and contrast private and government health care plans.
  • Explain how to obtain disability insurance and describe how it can protect you from loss.
  • 10 Life Insurance: You Bet Your Life!
    • Determining Your Needs
    • Types of Companies, Policies, and Provisions
    • Buying Life Insurance
    • Annuities

  • Understand what circumstances create the need for life insurance and determine your life insurance needs.
  • Analyze a variety of life insurance policies available today.
  • Create a plan to buy life insurance and select important provisions in a contract.
  • Understand how annuities provide financial security.
  • 11 Investing Basics
  • Pre- Investment Preparation
  • Consider Before You Choose
  • Choosing Between Alternatives
  • Risks and Research

  • Understand the advantages of long-term investment over short-term investment.
  • Assess the safety-risk trade-off and the components of the investing risk factor.
  • Identify a variety of investment alternatives and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.
  • Identify factors that can reduce investment risk.
  • Identify sources of investment information.
  • 12 Stocks and Bonds
  • Common and Preferred Stock
  • Evaluating Stock Investments
  • Notable Numerical Measures
  • Long and Short-term Strategies for Investment
  • Describe the most important features of common and preferred stock.
  • Evaluate the historical performance of a stock investment.
  • Understand how corporate earnings and other factors affect stock performance.
  • Describe how stocks are traded, and compare and contrast trading techniques used by long-term investors and short-term speculators.
  • Evaluate why consumers find bonds to be an attractive conservative investment.
  • 13 Mutual Funds and Real Estate
  • Characteristics and Classifications of Mutual Funds
  • Mutual Funds Transactions
  • Types of Real Estate Investments
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Real Estate Investments
  • Describe the characteristics of mutual funds investments and classify mutual funds by investment objective.
  • Understand how mutual funds are bought and sold and how mutual fund investors earn a return on investment.
  • Differentiate between different types of real estate investments.
  • Compare the advantages and disadvantages of investing in real estate.
  • 14 Retirement Planning
  • Starting Early
  • Asset Analysis
  • Needs Analysis
  • Your Retirement Income
  • Analyze your current assets and liabilities.
  • Estimate your projected living costs after retirement.
  • Determine your planned retirement income and develop a balanced budget for retirement.
  • 15 Course Review
    • Review
    • Review of the course topics

    There are no prerequisites to take Personal Finance.

    The required eTextbook for this course is included with your course purchase at no additional cost. More information on StraighterLine eTextbooks

    Prefer the hard copy? Simply purchase from your favorite textbook retailer; you will still get the eTextbook for free.

    This course does not require a text.

    StraighterLine provides a percentage score and letter grade for each course. A passing percentage is 70% or higher.

    If you have chosen a Partner College to award credit for this course, your final grade will be based upon that college's grading scale. Only passing scores will be considered by Partner Colleges for an award of credit.

    There are a total of 1000 points in the course:

    Topic Assessment Points Available
    1
    Topic 1 Quiz
    50
    2
    Topic 2 Quiz 50
    3
    Topic 3 Quiz 50
    4
    Topic 4 Quiz 50
    5
    Topic 5 Quiz 50
    6
    Topic 6 Quiz 50
    7 Topic 7 Quiz 50
    7 Graded Midterm Exam 100
    8 Topic 8 Quiz 50
    9 Topic 9 Quiz 50
    10 Topic 10 Quiz 50
    11 Topic 11 Quiz 50
    12 Topic 12 Quiz 50
    13 Topic 13 Quiz 50
    14 Topic 14 Quiz 50
    15 Graded Final Exam 200
    Total
    1000

    Final Proctored Exam

    The final exam is developed to assess the knowledge you learned taking this course. All students are required to take an online proctored final exam in order complete the course and be eligible for transfer credit.

    Learn more about Proctored Exams

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