SAIGONTECH
Course Syllabus
BUSG 1370 - Personal Financial Planning
1. Class
: PFP
Semester : Summer 2015
2. Instructors
Instructor:
Office:
Tel:
Mobile:
Email:
Lâm Hữu Hoàng Phúc
Room 604 – SaigonTech Tower
(08) 3715 5033 (ext. 1619)
0943 77 83 86
phuclhh@saigontech.edu.vn
3. Campus and Room Location with Days and Times
Venue:Room 204 – SaigonTech Tower
Time: Mon and Wed 9:45 – 11:45
4. Course Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 3
5. Total Course Contact Hours: 48
6. Type of Instruction: Lectures
7. Course Description
This course introduces students to basic principles of finance applied in family and personal
financial planning and mangement. Topics include financial planning, tax planning, asset
management, credit, insurance, investment basics, securities markets, retirement and estate
plans.
8. Course Prerequisite(s):
There is no prerequisites to this course.
9. Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Program
Students’
learning
Outcomes
1. Identify essential management skills necessary for career success.
2. Describe the relationships of social responsibility, ethics, and law in
business.
3. Construct a business plan.
4. Examine the role of strategic human resource planning in support of
organizational mission and objectives.
5. Describe the impact of corporate culture and atmosphere on employee
behavior.
Course
Students’
learning
Outcomes
1. Understanding basic concepts and using techniques in the personal
financial planning process (Program SLO # 1, Chapter 1 – 4)
2. Understanding various aspects of money management: cash, credit
card, and consumer loans (Program SLO # 1, Chapter 5 – 8)
3. Understanding different kinds of insuance and knowing how to use
them to protect oneself (Program SLO # 1, Chapter 9 – 10)
4. Understanding and managing the investment process. Asset classes
1
Learning
Objectives
covered: stocks, bonds, and other alternatives (Program SLO # 1,
Chapter 11 – 15)
I. Understanding basic concepts and using techniques in the personal
financial planning process
1. Describe the five basic steps of personal financial planning
2. List ten principles of personal finance.
3. Calculate level of net worth or wealth using a balance sheet.
4. Analyze income statement.
5. Analyze financial ratios
6. Implement a financial plan or a budget plan
7. Understand and perform calculations of time value of money
8. Identify and understand the major federal income tax features that
affect all taxpayers. Chapter 4 1.9 Estimate your income taxes.
II. Understanding various aspects of money management: cash, credit
card, and consumer loans
1. Manage your cash and liquid assets.
2. Know how credit cards work.
3. Know the determinant of credit worthiness
4. Understand the various consumer loans.
III. Understanding different kinds of insuance and knowing how to use
them to protect oneself
1. Determine life insurance needs and design a life insurance program.
2. Design a health care insurance program and understand what provisions
are important.
3. Describe disability insurance and available choices
4. Understand, buy, and maintain homeowner's insurance in a costeffective way.
IV. Understanding and managing the investment process. Asset classes
covered: stocks, bonds, and other alternatives
1. Know how to manage risk in investments.
2. Identify and describe the primary and secondary securities markets.
3. Know how to trade securities using a broker.
4. Know how read stock quotes online or in the newspaper.
5. Determine the value of stocks.
6. Describe different investment strategies.
10. Textbook
Personal Finance: Turning Money into Wealth, 5th (Global) Edition (2009) By Keown, Arthur J.,
Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-13-607776-3
11. Course Requirements
Make-up policy
Make-up test is not allowed. If any class session is canceled, the instructor will discuss with
the students to arrange a make-up class.
Attendance and Withdrawal Policies
Please read information about attendance and withdrawal policies on SaigonTech website:
http://www.saigontech.edu.vn/saigontech/english/general_academic.jsp?subid=37#6
12. Instructor’s Requirements
Classroom policy
2
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Please be seated before lecture begins, and don't leave early without prior permission
since it is very distracting to me and your classmates. Arriving late or leaving early will
count as half of an absence.
Because it is distracting to other students and to me, you should keep mobile phones
off/silent, and not carry on private conversations.
Being active in class discussions and asking questions are highly encouraged.
To make best use of our scarce time, do NOT study for another exam, work for another
class, play games, or surf the Internet. If you are caught red-handed, you will be
dismissed from the class and your attendance for that class will be ABSENT. It also
reduces your participation grade.
Do not close your books or rustle your papers to signal the end of class. Pack up only
when I say I have done.
Academic Honesty
Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course
requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by SaigonTech officials
against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Please read my PowerPoint on “Cheating and
Plagiarism” and the following policies for more details about Academic Dishonesty Policy:
Acts of plagiarism include but are not limited to:
 Submit other people’s works to get points (Nộp bài làm của người khác để lấy điểm cho
mình).
 Copy words or ideas without citing source and author’s name (Sao chép từ hoặc ý tưởng
củangười khác mà không nêu nguồn tài liệu và tên tác giả được trích dẫn).
 Do not use quotation marks for direct citation (Không đặt dấu ngoặc kép trong các trích dẫn
nguyên văn).
 Cite the wrong source (Đưa thông tin sai về nguồn của một trích dẫn).
 Change the wording but sentence structure without citing author’s name (Thay đổi từ ngữ
nhưng vẫn giữ nguyên cấu trúc câu của một nguồn tài liệu mà không nêu tên tác giả).
 Borrow words/ phrases from a source without using quotation marks or with making
negligible change (Vay mượn từ/ cụm từ của một nguồn tài liệu mà không đặt dấu ngoặc kép
hoặc chỉ thay đổi chúng một cách qua loa).
 Copy too many words or ideas that make up the most of personal work, regardless of whether
source and author’s name are cited (Sao chép quá nhiều từ ngữ hoặc ý tưởng từ một nguồn tài
liệu làm cho các ý tưởng đó chiếm phần lớn bài làm của mình, bất kể có nêu tên nguồn hoặc
tác giả hay không)
 Copy information from Internet such as company information, market information etc. (Sao
chépthông tin từ Internet (thông tin công ty, thông tin thị trườngv.v)
 Use Google Translation to write up papers, regardless of whether you use your own ideas or
borrow ideas (Sử dụng Google Translation để viết bài, bất kể là ý tưởng của bản thân hay vay
mượn).
 Use Google Translation to write up papers by translating Vietnamese from existing
Vietnamese study materials/ sources into English (Sửdụng Google Translation để dịch thông
tin từ nguồn tài liệu tiếngViệt sang tiếng Anhvà đưa vào bài làm của mình).
Other Student Information: Refer to SaigonTech’s website at www. saigontech.edu.vn for
other students rights and responsibilities at the school.
13. Grading Policies
3
An Incomplete may be given only for extenuating circumstances (i.e. family illness, accident,
and an unforeseen event occurring at exam time). The grading policy is summarized below:
Course Grading
1) Quiz (quantity: 12, mode: individual)
2) Participation
3) Mid-term exam
4) Final exam
5) Presentation
Total
24%
10%
20%
30%
16%
100%
Grading Scale
A 90 – 100
B 80 – 89
C 70 – 79
D 60 – 69
0 – 59
F
The passing grade of this course is D.
1) Quiz (individual, closed book, only calculator accepted)
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Each student must attend the class to take the quizzes. If he/she is absent, there is no
other opportunity to make up. Mark of 0 will be given if not taking the quiz.
Specific time and date for the quizzes are specified in the course calendar. The duration of
each test is 10 minutes. There are 12 quizzes in total.
The quizzes will be provided in order to test students’ knowledge about the materials
provided in the previous lectures and to help students be prepared before mid-term and
final examinations.
The results and feedbacks will be received at the next class.
2) Examination Format (individual, only calculator accepted)
Exam
Midterm
Endterm
Type
MCT
Application
No. of
questions
60
2
MCT
Application
60
2
Points
60
40
60
40
90
Chapters
Mode
Duratio
n
Reading
time
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
7, 8, 9, 10
Closed
-book
120
mins
5 mins
11, 12, 13,
14, 15
Closed
-book
120
mins
5 mins
3) Participation (individual): Participation mark depends on your diligence and activeness. To
get full mark (10%), you have to attend all 24 class-sessions and be very active in the class.
4) Presentation (individual): Make your personal financial plan.
14. Course Calendar:
Week
Date
Mon
Jun 15 2015
1
Mon
Jun 22 2015
Recommended Readings
Course introduction – Assignments
Chapter 1: The Financial Planning Process.
Quiz 1
Wed
Jun 17 2015
2
Content
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Chapter 2: Measuring Your Financial Health
and Making a Plan
Quiz 2
4
Wed
Jun 24 2015
Mon
Jun 29 2015
3
Chapter 3: Understanding the Time Value of
Money
Quiz 3
Chapter 4: Tax Planning and Strategies
Quiz 4
Wed
Jul 01 2015
Chapter 7: Using Consumer Loans: The Role
of Planned Borrowing
Quiz 5
Mon
Jul 06 2015
4
Chapter 8: The Home and Automobile
Decision
Mon
Jul 06 2015
Quiz 7
Wed
Jul 08 2015
Mon
Jul 13 2015
Wed
Jul 15 2015
Chapter 10: Property and Liability Insurance.
5
Mon
Jul 20 2015
7
Chapter 09: Life & Health Insurance
Chapter 11: Investment basics
Quiz 8
Chapter 12: Securities markets
Mon
Jul 27 2015
Quiz 9
Wed
Jul 29 2015
Mon
Aug 03 2015
9
Wed
Aug 05 2015
Mon
Aug 10 2015
Vietnam's Laws on Social
Securities
MIDTERM EXAM
Wed
Jul 22 2015
8
10
Chapter 5: Cash and Liquid Asset
Management
Quiz 6
Wed
Jul 08 2015
6
Vietnam's Laws on
Personal Income Tax
Bodie – Kane – Marcus
Finance Investments
(Chapter 2, 3)
Aswath Damodaran
Relative valuation
Chapter 13: Investing in stocks
investopedia.com Guide
to Stock-Picking
Strategies
Quiz 10
investopedia.com Bond
Basics
Chapter 14: Investing in bonds and other
alternatives
Quiz 11
Chapter 15: Mutual Funds: An Easy Way to
investopedia.com
Advanced Bond Concepts
investopedia.com
Choosing quality mutual
funds
5
Diversify
Quiz 12
Wed
Aug 12 2015
11
12
Mon
Aug 17 2015
Wed
Aug 19 2015
Mon
Aug 24 2015
Wed
Aug 26 2015
Chapter 18: Fitting the pieces together
FINAL EXAM
Presentation
6