Do you have clear financial goals? Do you know if you have enough money to buy a car or house, if you can afford to take a cut in pay in order to go back to school, if you will have enough money to retire?
Do you know how much tax you will be expected to pay this year and next, or what you might be able to do right now that will lower your tax long into the future? Do you have enough insurance? Have you developed a household budget and are you sticking to it?
Will your assets be passed to your chosen heirs when you die? Do you know how your creditors judge you and do you know how to change your credit report to reduce your expenses and increase your financial security?
Are you confident you can choose stocks and mutual funds wisely and do you know how to decide how much money you should allocate to these types of investments? Do you know how to keep good financial records and do you know which types of records you should keep and for how long?
If your answer to any of these questions is "No," you need this course. This course will prepare you for a lifetime of worthwhile personal financial planning. The tools you will learn are useful, realistic, and easy to work into your regular routine. They will help you gain control over the financial impact of the choices you make.
You'll learn to create and use a budget, borrow and invest wisely, make intelligent decisions about insurance, and plan for your financial future. You'll develop a retirement savings plan, and you'll be better prepared to make large purchases and plan for taxes. You'll learn the essentials of household bookkeeping, record-keeping requirements, and much, much more.
Instructor Biography:
Gail Perry is a CPA and holds a degree in journalism and English from Indiana University. She studied accounting at Illinois State University and is a former tax accountant with Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche. She has been teaching since 1989 and is the author of 15 books, including Using QuickBooks, TurboTax: The Official Guide, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes, and the forthcoming Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income. She is a financial journalist and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and Internet news sites.
Course Syllabus:
Lesson 1 Syllabus
Your Financial Situation
Lesson 2 Syllabus
The Daily Grind: Earnings, Bills, and Taxes
Lesson 2 Objective
Get an overview of personal finances, a personal objectives worksheet, a plan for setting up an effective bookkeeping system, and an overview of federal record keeping requirements.
Lesson 3 Syllabus
Your Credit
Lesson 3 Objective
Learn about the day to day routine of personal finances, ways to save money when paying bills, tools for maximizing income, saving money on taxes, organizing tax receipts and using modern techniques for easy tax return preparation.
Lesson 4 Syllabus
The Art of Borrowing
Lesson 4 Objective
Discover how to check your credit history, how creditors judge you, get information added to and removed from your credit report, and how to make yourself a good credit risk (and learn reasons why you should want to do this).
Lesson 5 Syllabus
Creating and Living with a Budget
Lesson 5 Objective
Analyze when and how to borrow money, the cost of borrowing money, how to get the best rates, how compound interest works, the effects of making early (and late) loan payments, tax effects of borrowing, and how to borrow on-line.
Lesson 6 Syllabus
Investing in Mutual Funds
Lesson 6 Objective
Learn what a budget is, how to create a budget that you can live with, and how to make your budget live with you.
Lesson 7 Syllabus
Buying and Selling Stocks
Lesson 7 Objective
Explore information about types of mutual funds, how to pick a fund, how much to invest, timing your investments, knowing when to sell shares, and understanding the tax effects of mutual fund investing.
Lesson 8 Syllabus
Other Types of Investing
Lesson 8 Objective
Examine the stock market, reading stock reports, choosing a broker, picking stocks, knowing when to sell, day-trading, using the Internet, and the tax effects of stock transactions.
Lesson 9 Syllabus
Insurance Considerations
Lesson 9 Objective
Consider a variety of investment options including interest-bearing accounts, bonds, commodities, precious metals, real estate, and collectibles.
Lesson 10 Syllabus
Planning for Your Retirement
Lesson 10 Objective
Learn about purchasing insurance, types of insurance (life, health, wealth, assets, disability), cost comparisons, choosing a broker, and investing in insurance.
Lesson 11 Syllabus
Life's Big Expenses
Lesson 11 Objective
Review retirement plans provided by your employer, personal retirement plans, Social Security, retirement distributions, and tax effects of retirement contributions and distributions.
Lesson 12 Syllabus
Estate Planning
Lesson 12 Objective
Explore saving for college, weddings, a house, a car, and understand the choices you can make, the tax benefits available, options for shopping on-line, and applying for financial aid for high education.
