Assignment 1 – Retirement SavingsPERSONAL FINANCE SOFTWARE:PERSONAL FINANCIAL DECISION MAKINGFinance 205-A01Summer 2009Time: 8:30am – 10:10am Monday - Thursday Room: 041 Rike Instructor: William Wood, CFPOffice: 243 Rike Telephone: 775-2902 Fax: 775-3545Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Hours: 10:00 – 11:30 am, Tuesday and Thursday other times by appointmentWeb site: www.wright.edu/~william.wood (Powerpoint slides; TAs; quizzes)Lab Room: 245 Rike Door Security Code: _________TEXT: Personal Finance, Ninth Edition, Kapoor, Dlabay, and Hughes, Inc., 2006.Text plus Homework Manager http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073382329/information_center_view0/COURSE DESCRIPTION:This course provides an overview of the theories, concepts and principles of personal financialmanagement, with an emphasis on everyday financial decision-making. The student will gain a workingknowledge of personal finance record keeping, financial statements, debt management, and thebudgeting and goal setting processes. The use of various forms of financing for consumer and realestate purchases will be explained. The student will also gain a basic understanding of investments andhow they can be used to achieve short, intermediate and long-term goals (i.e., financial independence atretirement.)LEARNING OBJECTIVES:- Develop a set of personal financial goals. - Be able to create a personal cash flow and financial statement.- Understand the protection planning needs (i.e.home, auto, life, health and disability insurance). - Be knowledgeable of your liability for personal income taxes.- Understand the various types of investment instruments and how they can be integrated into a personal financial plan.- Be able to explain retirement planning to include a general understanding of the various types of employer sponsored retirement plans and government social insurance benefits available.- Be generally knowledgeable of consumer protection laws, consumer rights, and consumer debt management.CONDUCT OF COURSE:1Lecture, discussion, projects and multi-media projections. We will normally go over the homework ineach class and use it as a basis for chapter review. Homework will be collected at the beginning ofclass!! Make a copy for yourself!! You can correct your copy from the class discussion and use it fortest review.WRITING ACROSS THE CURRUCULUMThe University has designated this course as writing intensive. The goals of the writing intensivecomponent of this class are:- To help students think critically abot the course material by writing about it.- To give students a chance to exercise their editing skills.- To help students learn the conventions of writing in their own field of study.To meet this requirement you must write 2 short essays which demonstrate your ability to communicatean understanding of course topics. The first essay is to be an analysis of an assigned mutual funds.Information for the first essay is in the text and will be covered in class when Chapter 16 is discussed..The second essay can be on a topic of your choice as long as it is a topic addressed in the text. Theseessay are intended to be formal essays so please do not use conversational English. A list of suggestedtopics for your second essay is on my websiteTo receive full credit, each essay must satisfy the following criteria:1. It must be typewritten and submitted on the designated date.2. It must include a title page with your name, class and section, and essay title. Do not put titlepage information on the first page of your essay.3. It must be no less than 4 double spaced, 8 ½ x 11 inch pages with margins of 1 inch left andright, bottom and top. The font should be size 12.4. It must demonstrate a coherent understanding of the subject.5. You must use at least 2 information sources other than the text, make proper citation in theessay and attach the body of at least one of the sources to the submitted essay. I do not carewhich citation format you use, MLA or APA. Just give proper credit for others work. Do notuse extensive quotes or string quotes together! 6. For essay #1 please attach a copy of the mutual fund data sheet for the fund you areanalyzing.7. The essay must include these main components:a. An introductory thesis paragraph wherein you introduce or define your topic,what youare going to say about it and why its important.b. The body of the paper wherein you explain the topic using your own words and insights.Anyone can memorize or repeat the definition in the textbook. Your challenge is toexplain the concept to someone who has never had a course in personal finance andwants to know about your subject.c. An example that illustrates the use or application of the concept/subject in understandingthe world in which you live. The idea here is to explain how the subject helps you tounderstand or apply your understanding of the subject to your personal financial situationnow or in the future.d. A concluding or summary paragraph wherein you summarize the points you made in thebody of the paper and restate the importance of your topic to personal finance.8. Your work must demonstrate your ability to communicate ideas clearly, logically and concisely.Do not pad your essay with irrelevant or extraneous information. Do not fill space with lengthyquotes or large charts/graphs.29. Your essay must be grammatically correct, free of punctuation and spelling errors and carefullyproof read.10.You may resubmit each essay once. However, the corrected essay must be stapled to theoriginal version and its grade sheet, and submitted by the scheduled date..Help with the writing assignments can be (technique and form not content) can be accessed throughWriting Across the Curriculum department, 027 Paul Lawrence Dunbar Library.In order to receive Writing Intensive credit for this course, must complete the writing assignments witha grade of “C” that is 70% or better. This grade is entered separately from the course grade as a “P” forpass or “NP” for no credit. Please note that it is necessary to earn a course grade of “D” or better inorder to receive a “P” for the writing intensive grade.PARTICIPATION:Is encouraged at all times to maximize learning for all.EXAMS AND QUIZZES:Exams will consist of true-false and multiple choice questions. All exams are closed