LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
FN242 Personal Finance (Fall 2003)
Dr. J.E. Erkkila Office: South Hall, Room 310
Office Telephone: (906) 635-2108 or 1-888-800-5778 ext. 2108
Office Hours: M 1-2, TR 11-1 & by Appointment
e-mail: jerkkila@lssu.edu FAX: (906) 635-2821
Course Objectives
Your purpose in taking this course is to learn personal finance. The
emphasis is on learning about all of the aspects you need to know in handling your
finances such as the financial planning process, money management, credit and
financing, personal taxes, insurance, investments, retirement planning, and estate
planning. Knowledge of personal finance helps you make better decisions about
spending your money and protects you from making expensive mistakes. “Your
ability to make informed choices related to spending, saving, borrowing, and
investing continues to be the foundation of long-term financial security.” The
objective of the course is to provide you with the tools and framework to achieve
personal economic satisfaction.
TextBook: Madura, Personal Finance Pearson, 2th Edition, 2006
.
Course Content
This course is organized to help you develop the key components of a financial
plan. The text is organized in to the components of a comprehensive financial plan.
1. Budgeting and tax planning
2. Managing liquidity
3. Financing large purchases
4. Insurance planning
5. Investing
6. Retirement and estate planning
You will complete each section of this text and complete an individual
comprehensive financial plan as part of the final exam for this course.
Your plan will include the following sections and headings:
1. Budgeting and budgeting tradeoffs
2. Managing Liquidity and liquidity tradeoff
3. Personal Financing and Personal Financing Tradeoff including Long-term
Financing Strategy
4. Protecting your Assets and Income and Insurance Tradeoff
5. Managing investments and Investment Tradeoff including present and future
value of investment
6. Retirement Planning and Retirement Account Tradeoff including Retirement
Contribution decision
7. Maintaining Financial Documents
8. Future Contingency planning
Student Evaluation
Test 1
Test 2
Assignments & Quizzes
Final
7:30 – 9:30
Monday, December 17th
Total
20%
20%
30%
30%
100%
NOTE: There are no make up tests or make up assignments for any reason. There
is no extra work to compensate for not doing sufficiently well on the assigned work
or for missed work.
Grade ranges are: A+ 100-97, A 96-93, A- 92-90, B+ 89-87, B 86-83, B- 82-80 C+
79-77, C 76-73, C- 72-70, D+ 69-67, D 66-63, D- 62-60, F < 60
Disability Statement: In compliance with Lake Superior State University policy
and equal access laws, disability-related (learning, medical, physical, etc.)
accommodations and services are available. Students are encouraged to meet with
their professor in a timely manner, preferably the first week of class, to discuss their
accommodation needs. Students are required to register with the Office of Student
Accommodation and Supports Services (OSASS)for disability verification and for
determination of reasonable academic accommodations. OSASS is located in the
KJS Library, Office 144, and Ext. 7559.
Personal Finance Web Sites – Many of these Site Have Personal Finance
Sections
1. www.mhhe.com/kdh6e
2. www.ihatefinancialplanning.com (Financial Planning Information)
3. www.tse.com (Canada’s Largest Stock Market)
4. www.nyse.com (US Market of Large Cap Stocks)
5. www.nasdaq.com (US Market Largely Tech and Small Stocks)
6. www.amex.com (US Market)
7. http://finance.yahoo.com (Streaming Video of Stock Market Information)
8. www.irs.gov (Internal Revenue Service)
9. http://cnnfn.cnn.com (Financial Information)
10. www.bloomberg.com (Investing 101, Mutual Funds 101)
11. www.yahoo.multexinvestor.com (Company Research Reports)
12. www.styockhouse.ca (Canadian Site For Financial Information)
13. www.individualinvestor.com (US Site For Financial Information)
14. www.smartmoney.com (US Site For Financial Information)
15. www.missingmoney.com (Discover Money You Didn’t Know You Had)
16. www.bankraterate.com (Interest Rates of all Types)
17. www.investopedia.com (Encyclopedia of Financial Terms)
18. www.freecreditreport.com (It May Be free But …)
19. www.thompsoninvest.com (Investor Education Center)
20. www.netstockdirect.com
There are many other web sites mentioned in the text.