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Learning Guide Unit 1

Site: University of the People Printed by: Alex Gabriel

Course: BUS 2204-01 Personal Finance - AY2024-T3 Date: Tuesday, 6 February 2024, 7:50 AM
Book: Learning Guide Unit 1

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Description

Learning Guide Unit 1

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Table of contents

Overview
Introduction
Reading Assignment
Discussion Forum Question
Written Assignment
Learning Journal Task
Self-Quiz
Checklist

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Overview

Unit 1: Personal Financial Planning

Topics:
Personal Financial Planning Introduces Four Major Themes:

Individual or “Micro” Factors That Affect Financial Thinking

Systemic or “Macro” Factors That Affect Financial Thinking
The Planning Process
Financial Planning Professionals

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe major individual or "Micro" factors that influence financial thinking.

2. Identify the systemic or “macro” factors that affect personal financial planning.
3. Analyze cases of financial decision making by applying the planning process.

Tasks:

Read the Learning Guide and external Reading Assignments

Participate in the Discussion Assignment (post, comment, and rate in the Discussion Forum)
Complete and submit Unit 1 Assignment
Make entries to the Learning Journal
Take the Self-Quiz

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Introduction

Welcome to Personal Finance! Unit 1 creates enthusiasm and curiosity about the idea of personal financial planning, while introducing
the factors that will consistently frame the decision-making process. The themes emphasize the idiosyncratic, systemic, and continuous
nature of personal finance, putting decisions within the larger contexts of an entire lifetime and of an economy.

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Reading Assignment

Read Chapter 1 of Personal Finance textbook by Rachel Siegel and Carol Yacht. You may also follow along or listen to an audio version of
the chapter here.

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Discussion Forum Question

Review the material in Chapter 1 on Personal Financial Planning.

Define the financial planning process
List the elements of a good financial plan.
Identify and discuss the three most important personal factors and the three most important economic factors that affect your
financial planning decisions.

Go to the Discussion Forum for Unit 1 and engage in a dialogue with your classmates on the above issues. You are expected to make at
least three posts to the discussion board during the course of the discussion period and rate your classmates’ posts.

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Written Assignment

Complete the Assignment from, Personal Finance by Rachel Siegel and Carol Yacht (2009); Page 23. Exercise 2. See below:

Use the S.M.A.R.T. planning model and information in this section to

evaluate Alice’s goals (below).

a. pay off student loan

b. buy a house and save for children’s education
c. accumulate assets
d. retire
e. travel around the world in a sailboat.

Discuss your evaluations (p. 23).

Prepare a two page (double-spaced) essay. Cite references to material that you use in preparing the essay.

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Learning Journal Task

Choose between these three questions and answer only one question in approximately 200-250 words.

1. What skills and knowledge do you hope to obtain by taking the Personal Finance course?

OR

2. As a Personal task, start keeping a written record of observations and insights about your financial thinking and behavior. Do NOT
make this part of your Learning Journal. Rather, look at what you discover. Consider how information in this text specifically
relates to your observations and insights. Reading this chapter, identify and describe your current life stage. How does your
current age or life stage affect your financial thinking and behavior? To what extent and in what ways does your financial thinking
anticipate your next stage of life? What financial goals are you aware of that you have set? How are your current experiences
informing your financial planning for the future?

Then, based on what you discover, proceed to your Learning Journal task: Discuss the insights on personal financial planning you
have gained from the above tasks and from reading the chapter (again, details of the personal tasks not required in this LJ entry).

OR

3. Discuss the macro economic factors that are influencing your financial thinking and behavior today. What are some specific
examples? How have large-scale economic changes or cycles, such as the economic recession of 2008–2009, affected your
financial planning and decision making?

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Self-Quiz

The Self-Quiz gives you an opportunity to self-assess your knowledge of what you have learned so far.

The results of the Self-Quiz do not count towards your final grade, but the Self-Quiz is part of the UoPeople learning process and it is
expected that you will take it to ensure understanding of the materials presented.

Analyzing your results will help you perform better on future Graded Quizzes and the Final Exam.

Access the Self-Quiz here

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Checklist

Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments

Participate in the Discussion Assignment (post, comment, and rate in the Discussion Forum)

Complete and submit the Written Assignment

Make entries to the Learning Journal

Take the Self-Quiz

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