Today’s ever changing financial situations require that solid and practical personal financial planning should be available to each person with income and responsibilities. This class is designed to provide that basic personal financial planning. The class provides a curriculum with the plans and procedures that will help anyone identify, understand and accomplish their financial goals. We cover basic personal financial planning, asset and credit management, savings/investment and retirement planning.
Students will:
- be shown what types of banking services are essential to managing finances and the right way to pay bills.
- prioritize expenses, develop a spending plan and learn how to manage credit cards with and without balances.
- develop an approach for saving for retirement and will become well versed in the various college savings plans available.
- gain knowledge of different types of insurance needed as well as become familiar with a strategic approach to buying homes and cars with different types of loans.
- learn methods to become a savvy shopper and traveler as well as learn about various financial experts and resources available.
- learn to refocus their thinking process to take control of their finances and set personal goals for managing their financial world.
Course Outline:
Lesson 1: Setting Up Your Financial Life
This lesson will help you get organized by centralizing your financial information. You will identify basic bank accounts and online services needed to make managing your finances straight forward and efficient.
Lesson 2: Take Charge of Your Spending and Get the Most Out of Your Credit Cards
The first thing that anyone can do is to analyze their current spending habits. What are necessary expenses and what are frivolous expenses and how much can be spent for each category? This lesson will also address what to do if you carry a balance on your credit cards, how to use one where you pay your balance off at the end of each month and the types of cards available.
Lesson 3: A Guide to Retirement Investing and Saving for College
Saving for retirement. We all know how important it is and that we need to do it, but sometimes we procrastinate. This lesson will help us develop or continue a plan to support ourselves in our “golden years.” Remember that in our society, saving for retirement is a must for every individual! If you haven’t started yet, then it needs to be a priority! The point is to start saving now and “find” the money even if it is foregoing that cup of coffee at McDonalds in the moring and putting that money away or washing your car at home instead of using the automatic drive thru and socking that money away.
Lesson 4: Property and Casualty, Life and Health Insurance Needs and Buying of Homes and Vehicles
Protecting yourself with insurance is a vital thing to do. You are protecting assets that you could never replace if they were lost. The key is to not over-insure or under-insure yourself. We will discuss the types of insurance that can and should be purchased. We will also discuss important considerations to be made before buying that next home or vehicle.
Lesson 5: Be a Savvy shopper and resources available to you.
Being a savvy shopper will allow you to make intelligent decisions that will save you money and mistakes. This lesson will help you get the most out of your purchases big and small. Knowing what resources are available to you to help with financial considerations is also important. We will help you learn when it is time to bring in a professional that specializes in a particular field.
Lesson 6: Changing Your Uneasy Mind and Setting Goals
This is the last lesson of this course. By now you have learned that financial success isn’t a matter of how much money you make or have, but rather how you manage it and everything else that is part of your financial life. If you are not 100% happy with your financial situation, then you are in control of making changes. Those changes will take a commitment from you to change the way you think and to change the way you currently live. Some changes may only need to be temporary for a couple of years until you can get a handle on things and other changes will be for life. In any case this lesson is your chance to set goals for yourself.
