Personal Finance and Investing

Personal finance and investing can sometimes be daunting to initiate. Yet long-term investing in the stock market can yield significant results with relatively low risk. We will examine the benefits of systematic investing and how to initiate a low-cost, long-term plan. We will work from the critically acclaimed A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel. This class is for the novice who would like to take charge of their own lifetime savings as well as those that have some understanding of finance and would like to learn more. Understanding this text will provide you with 80% of the knowledge you will need in your lifetime to be a successful investor.  We will also examine typical personal finance issues such as compounding, insurance, use of credit, student loans, the buy-vs.-lease decision and other personal finance areas as identified by students.  Emphasis will be on in-class exchanges with like-minded investors.

This offering will include lectures, workshops, and seminars. Learning will include recorded lectures and video-conferencing workshop sessions and seminars.  Our approach will emphasize participation in synchronous (live) sessions; however, if students find themselves unable to participate due to technology, caregiving obligations, economic disruption, health risk, or illness, they can work with faculty to pursue alternate options to earn related credit.