Course: FINC321last published: 12/17/13 11:38 AM Current Editor: Basic Text Editor

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Course Description

Course Goals/ObjectivesAfter completing this course, you should be able to apply personal finance knowledge to effectively communicate with financial professionals analyze and control personal income, debt, and investments to create a budget and build wealth identify and evaluate risks to protect current and future assets

Course IntroductionFor a company to stay in business, it must be fiscally responsible; the same holds true for individuals and families. Personal financial management is not just a phase you go through; it's a daily struggle to maintain your current lifestyle. Taking the time to learn the basics of insurance, debt, and investing will help you achieve many of the lifetime goals you set for yourself and your family.The course consists of the following major topics: financial planning, personal insurance, personal debt, savings and investments, and education and retirement planning.

Grading Information and CriteriaFor a company to stay in business, it must be fiscally responsible; the same holds true for individuals and families. Personal financial management is not just a phase you go through; it's a daily struggle to maintain your current lifestyle. Taking the time to learn the basics of insurance, debt, and investing will help you achieve many of the lifetime goals you set for yourself and your family. The course consists of the following major topics: financial planning, personal insurance, personal debt, savings and investments, and education and retirement planning.

Additional Information

Project DescriptionsHomework (two short papers)Social Security Paper (23 pages)Research the development and administration of the U.S. Social Security program. Include its history, current structure, and calculation of benefits; also, include other benefits available through the program.The Social Security paper is worth 10 percent of your final grade.Play Money Paper (12 pages)Pretend that you have $10,000 to invest for four weeks. You are to "invest" this money in stocks or mutual funds and to track your investments on a weekly basis for four weeks (see schedule for due date). Pick five different stocks or funds to follow.Write a report ona. why you selected the investments you did b. whether any noteworthy company results, news events, or economic events impacted your investments during this period (show your gains or losses for the period) c. how your investments' performance compared with the performance of the S&P 500 index during this period d. your tracking of the following three stock market indexes: Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 stock index Russell 2000 index for small caps The play money paper is worth 10 percent of your final grade.Written Paper RubricCriteriaPossible Points per Criteria

ExemplaryMeets ExpectationsDevelopingPoorNot Apparent

____ points____ points____ points____ points0 Points

OrganizationArranges ideas clearly and logically to support the purpose or argument; ideas flow smoothly and are effectively linked; reader can follow the line of reasoningArranges ideas adequately to support the purpose or argument; links between ideas are generally clear; reader can follow the line of reasoning for the most partArranges ideas adequately, in general, although ideas sometimes fail to make sense together; reader remains fairly clear about what writer intendsArranges ideas illogically; ideas frequently fail to make sense together; reader cannot identify a line of reasoning and becomes frustrated or loses interestNo assignment submitted or submitted late

ContentGives very specific information. Addressed all of the assignment components. Clearly illustrates critical and reflective thinking.Well thought out response. Contains specific information. Addressed all of the assignment components. Is relatively detailed. Shows some critical and reflective thinking. Relatively well thought out response.Has some specific information. Addressed many of the assignment components. Not detailed.Poorly thought out response.Is vague and does not address all assignment components. No evidence of having given the assignment real thought. No assignment submitted or submitted late.

Technical / GrammarExecution is excellent. No grammar or writing errors. Reads easily. Is well organized.Well executed. Few grammar or writing errors. Reads easily. Is fairly well organized.Execution is poor. Many grammar or writing errors. Hard to read. Poorly organized.Falls short of the required length for the assignment. Very poorly written. Very difficult to read. No organization is evident. Reads like a last minute effort. No assignment submitted or submitted late

Personal Financial Plan (812 pages)Develop a personal financial plan detailing the financial goals that you and/or your family have developed. This is a staged project. Stage 1: Analyze your personal financial situation using appropriate financial tools. Stage 2: Identify short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Rank your goals in order of importance as they relate to the financial resources available and expected. Estimate the financial commitment for each goal. Stage 3: Consider all factors we have covered in class, including budgeting, time value of money, asset protection, debt/credit, savings, investing, and estate planning. Incorporate the first two stages to complete the development of the financial plan. This is the capstone assignment of this class, so careful preparation is needed to illustrate concept understanding and application.The personal financial plan is worth 20 percent of your final grade.Personal Financial Plan RubricExceptional ____ pointsAcceptable ____ pointsMinimum Effort ____ pointsPoints Earned

Cover PageContains graphic/illustration, name of project, your name, course name, and semester; creativity is evidentContains name of project, your name, course name, and semesterContains some of the following: name of project, your name, course name, and semester

Table of ContentsHeading, sections clearly labeled with leaders and page numbersHeading, sections labeled with page numbersMissing sections, not clear

Career PlanningDescribe life situation providing details related to marital status, children, occupation, and income. Investigate career. Determine annual salary. If married, provide spouses. Include job advertisement.Describe life situation providing details related to marital status, children, occupation, and income. Provide annual salary. If married, provide spouses. Identify marital status, children, occupation, and income. Determine annual salary. If married, provide spouses.

Financial GoalsClearly written; contains at least two short-term financial goals and three long-term financial goalsClearly written; contains at least one short-term goals and two short-term goalsGoals are not clearly written, contains only one short-term and one long-term financial goal

Banking ServicesWell written, clearly explains services provided at various institutions (at least three), materials provided (from at least one), institution and services you will use are identified, justification is provided for choice of institution and servicesWell written, clearly explains services provided at various institutions (at least two), institution and services you will use are identified, justification is provided for choice of institution and servicesWell written, explains services provided at institution you will use, identifies services you will use, explanation is provided for choice of institution and services

Housing Decision

Information and materials provided on investigation of housing options available, choice is explained in detail, sources of credit are explained and your selection is identified and explained in detail, monthly expenses related to your decisions are providedInformation provided on investigation of housing options available, choice is explained in detail, sources of credit are explained and your selection is identified and explained in detail, monthly expenses related to your decisions are providedHousing options available are identified, choice is explained, sources of credit and your selection are identified, monthly expenses related to your decisions are provided

Automobile Information and materials provided on investigation of auto options available, choice is explained in detail, sources of credit are explained and your selection is identified and explained in detail, monthly expenses related to your decisions are providedInformation provided on investigation of auto options available, choice is explained in detail, sources of credit are explained and your selection is identified and explained in detail, monthly expenses related to your decisions are providedAuto options available are identified, choice is explained, sources of credit and your selection are identified, monthly expenses related to your decisions are provided

InsuranceDetailed description of types of insurance you need, materials provided, explanation of types and providers and why you made these choices, monthly expense related to your decisions are provided Description of types of insurance you need, explanation of types and providers and why you made these choices, monthly expense related to your decisions are provided Identify types of insurance you need, explain types and providers, monthly expense related to your decisions are provided

InvestmentsDetailed explanation and investigation materials of different types of investments, justification for your selection of at least two types of investments, detailed explanation of expenses and risk associated with the investments selectedDetailed explanation of different types of investments, justification for your selection of at least one type of investment, detailed explanation of expenses and risk associated with the investment you selectedExplanation of different types of investments, justification for your selection of at least one type of investment, identify expenses and risk associated with the investment you selected

Monthly BudgetDetailed monthly budget which includes income and expenses (reduce income for taxes using the following: 10%: $2,651 - $9,700, 15%: $9,701 - $30,800, 25%: $30,801 - $68,500, 28%: $68,501 - $148,700, 33%: $148,701 - $321,200, 35%: $321,201 and up), detailed explanation of whether budget will allow you to meet your financial goals (see above), explanation as to whether or not you had to make changes to have a zero or positive balanceDetailed monthly budget which includes income and expenses (reduce income for taxes using the following: 10%: $2,651 - $9,700, 15%: $9,701 - $30,800, 25%: $30,801 - $68,500, 28%: $68,501 - $148,700, 33%: $148,701 - $321,200, 35%: $321,201 and up), detailed explanation of whether budget will allow you to meet your financial goals (see above)Monthly budget which includes income and expenses (reduce income for taxes using the following: 10%: $2,651 - $9,700, 15%: $9,701 - $30,800, 25%: $30,801 - $68,500, 28%: $68,501 - $148,700, 33%: $148,701 - $321,200, 35%: $321,201 and up), explanation of whether budget will allow you to meet your financial goals (see above)

POINTS EARNED:

Academic PoliciesAcademic Integrity UMUC is an academic community that honors integrity and respect for others, and it is expected that, as a member of this community, you will maintain a high level of personal integrity in your academic work at all times. Academic dishonesty is the failure to maintain academic integrity, and it includes the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's ideas or products as your own (plagiarism); the use or the attempt to make use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in an academic exercise; and the performance of work for another student (cheating). All academic work you submit during your time at UMUC must be original and must not be reused in other courses. Turnitin.com The university has a license agreement with Turnitin, an educational tool that helps identify and prevent plagiarism from Internet resources. Your instructor may use the service in class by requiring you to submit assignments electronically to Turnitin, by submitting assignments on your behalf, or by providing the option for you to check your own work via Turnitin for originality. The Turnitin Originality Report will indicate the amount of original text in your work and whether all the material that you quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from other sources is appropriately referenced. If you or your instructor submits all or part of your assignment to the Turnitin service, Turnitin will by default store that assignment in its database. The service will check for any matches between your work and the other materials stored in Turnitin's database. If you object to the long-term storage of your work in the Turnitin database, you must let your instructor know no later than two weeks after the start of class. You have three options regarding the storage of your assignment in the Turnitin database: 1) You can do nothing; your assignment will then be stored in the Turnitin database for the duration of UMUC's contract with Turnitin; 2) You can ask your instructor to have Turnitin store your assignment only for the duration of the semester or term, then have your assignment deleted from the Turnitin database once the class is over; or 3) You can ask your instructor to change the Turnitin settings so that your assignment is not stored in the Turnitin database at all. Please note: Your instructor may use other services in addition to or in place of Turnitin to check your work for plagiarism. Course Expectations For an eight-week course, you should expect to spend about six hours per week participating in class discussions and activities (online or onsite) and two to three times that number of hours in study, assigned reading, and preparation of assignments outside of class. Courses offered in shorter formats will require more time per week. You are expected to meet the same learning outcomes and perform the same amount of work in an online course as in an onsite course. Active participation is required in all online courses, and you should expect to log in to your online course several times a week. The following links to academic policies and other information are provided to help you as you complete your coursework at UMUC. Policies and Procedures UMUC's policy and procedures on affirmative action, equal opportunity, and sexual harassment (nondiscrimination): It is the policy of UMUC that no student or employee of the university or contractor/vendor conducting business with the university may discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, sex (including sexual harassment), marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, mental or physical disability, or sexual orientation. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against because of any factor protected under this policy may file a complaint of discrimination. UMUC's support services for disabled students: Any student who feels that he or she needs accommodations based on the functional impact of a documented disability should contact the technical director for veteran and disability services to discuss specific needs. Please contact the director at 240-684-2287 or disabilityservices@umuc.eduto coordinate reasonable accommodations. University System of Maryland Board of Regents' policy on academic integrity

UMUC's policy on academic dishonesty and plagiarism

UMUC's policy on the grade of incomplete and grade pending

UMUC's course withdrawal policy

UMUC's policy on the code of student conduct

UMUC's policy and procedures for the review of alleged arbitrary and capricious grading

For more on student services and more general information, visit UMUC's website at http://www.umuc.edu.

The basic benefit structure of the Social Security system has remained unchanged in principle, though modified in many details, since 1939. Monthly benefits related to the workers previous earnings are payable to retired and disabled workers, to eligible survivors, and to their families. Benefits based on prior earnings reflect workers prior standards of living and the earnings from which they paid Social Security taxes. The proportion of previous earnings that is replaced is greater for low than for high earners, a weighting that recognizes the greater economic needs of the person at a low earnings level and also the greater likelihood that higher paid workers will have supplementary pensions and private savings. The precise form and the dollar amounts of the benefit formula have changed many times in the past forty years, but the general principles of earnings-replacement and a weighted benefit formula have retained their validity. Under the current benefit formula, enacted in 1977 and first applied in 1979, the workers past earnings are indexed (or updated) to reflect recent wage levels in the economy. Then a monthly average of the workers indexed earnings is used to compute a basic benefit. The benefit formula for people reaching 65 in 1981 is: 90 percent of the first $211 in Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), plus 32 percent of the next $1,063 of AIME, plus 1 / 15 percent of all over $1,274.-The workers basic benefit is reduced for early retirement or increased for delayed retirement (see Chapter Specified fractions of the basic amount are paid to eligible family members. There is a limit on total monthly benefits paid to a workers family. After a person starts receiving benefits, the amount is adjusted automatically to keep pace with the cost of living. The Commission considered the structure of the present benefit formula as well as certain alternatives to it. It recognizes that a case can always be made for modifying the formula to meet particular objectives or changing situations. While it encourages continued evaluation of the formula, its general conclusion is that there is no need for modifying it at this time. However, Commission is making several recommendations, discussed elsewhere in this report, which affect benefit levels.