PİRİ REİS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES

SYLLABUS

Course Title : EF305 – Personal Finance

Credit : 3 credits

Term : Fall 2020

Office Hours : Tuesday 2:00-4:00 pm

Instructor : Prof. Engin Kurun, ekurun@pirireis.edu.tr - 532 561 3271

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to personal finance. Students will learn financial planning
process, how to make a personal financial plan, use financial formulas to help make
decisions about renting or buying, investing, calculating interest, understanding taxes,
banking, and financial goal setting.

Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of this course, the student will be able to:

 Use financial planning tools such as personal financial statements, ratio analysis and
time value of money
 Plan for short-term and long-term financial goals
 Evaluate investment and asset allocation decisions
 Manage credit
 Make informed purchasing decisions
 Understand insurance and risk management concepts
 Manage tax issues
 Make strategic decisions about personal financial future

Teaching Method (class, lecture, screening, distance learning …)

Teaching method involves interactive lectures and case studies. Practical implementation of
analytical tools (excel spreadsheet). Each participant should prepare research paper on selected
subjects. Students will take their homework subjects probably on December 8, 2020. It will be a

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group study and linked with their departments. Students will deliver their homework on January
5, 2021 by sending an e-mail to the lecturer.

Due to “COVID-19 Pandemic Break” Piri Reis University decided to continue its Fall Term via
distance education as of September 10, 2020. Students will be informed by the Lecturers
through e-mail, MS-Teams or OIS platform. The lecture durations will be max. 1 hours. Wish you
healthy days.

Last but not the least please pay attention to the announcements and download the required
materials on time before the lectures. Attendance is compulsory during distance learning
activities.

Text Book(s):

Kapoor, J., Dlabay, L., Hughes, R. J. & Hart, M. (2012). Personal Finance. (12th ed.), Mcgraw-
Hill/Irwin.

Supplementary Reading:

Madura, J. (2014). Personal Finance. (5th ed.), Pearson Education.

Keown, A. J. (2013). Personal Finance: turning money into wealth. (6 th ed.), Pearson
Education.

Gitman, L. J. & Joenk, M. D. (2011). Personal Financial Planning. (12th ed.), Thomson South-
Western.

Grading:

Mid term exam : %20 (on-line exam)

Homework : %30
Final exam : %50 (final exam may be applied at classroom)

Course Outline:

Week Date Topic Readings

1 Oct. 6, 2020 Introduction to personal finance Ch. 1-2
Personal finance basics and TVM
Review of financial statements
2 Oct. 13, 2020 Financial planning process Ch. 3
Money management strategy
Determination of financial goals
Budgeting and personal financial statements
3 Oct. 20, 2020 Tax planning Ch. 4
Income tax and tax management
4 Oct. 27, 2020 Financial services Ch. 5

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 Saving plans
Payment methods
5 Nov. 3, 2020 Introduction to consumer credit Ch. 6-7
Credit management
6 Nov. 10, 2020 Consumer purchasing strategies and legal Ch. 8
protection
Legal aspects of financial planning
7 Nov. 17, 2020 Mortgage financing Ch. 9
Buying and renting alternatives
8 Nov. 24, 2020 MID-TERM Exam
9 Dec. 1, 2020 Risk management and insurance Ch. 10-11-12
Life insurance
Property and motor vehicle insurance
Health, disability, long term care insurance
10 Dec. 8, 2020 Investing fundamentals Ch. 13-14-15-16-17
Investment alternatives (stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, real estate, other)
11 Dec. 15, 2020 Retirement planning Ch. 18
Pension funds selection and allocation
12 Dec. 22, 2020 Estate planning Ch. 19
13 Dec. 29, 2020 Preparation of a financial plan
Case study
14 Jan. 5, 2021 Review session before Final Exam
15 Jan. 12, 2021 FINAL Exam