Personal Finance I
Curriculum guideline
Lecture: 2 hours/week
Seminar: 2 hours/week
OR
Hybrid: Alternating weeks of above and online
Lectures, in-class and online assignments, completion of own personal financial plan.
- Introduction to financial planning.
- Introduction to personal income tax.
- Calculating saving and investing requirements to reach goals.
- Mortgages and financing and other of financial services.
- Insurance products and planning.
- Government programs including OAS, CPP, GIS, RRSP, RESPs, RDSP, and TFSAs.
- Retirement planning.
- Wills and estate planning basics.
- Legal and ethical conduct in the financial services industry.
Upon completion of the course, a successful student will be able to:
- develop effective financial planning goals;
- prepare personal financial statements (including a personal budget, cash flow statement, and statement of net worth);
- incorporate basic knowledge of personal income tax in financial planning decisions;
- consider and calculate various types of personal insurance needs and coverage options;
- describe and recommend relevant products and services available from financial institutions;
- describe and recommend general investment options (saving accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) and types of accounts and their features for wealth management;
- conduct a financial analysis of mortgage qualification and renting versus buying a house;
- calculate and recommend strategies to achieve retirement and estate planning goals; and
- demonstrate in a responsible and accountable manner the legal, ethical and social parameters of the financial industry.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.
|
Assignment(s) or case(s) |
10% - 20% |
|
Term Tests or quizzes |
30% - 50% |
|
Individual Financial Plan |
10% - 15% |
|
Final Exam |
30% - 40% |
|
|
100% |
No single assessment will be worth more than 40%.
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50% on the combined invigilated components to pass the course.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
Madura, Jeff and Gill, Hardeep S. Personal Finance. Latest Canadian Edition, Pearson, or alternate textbook approved by department.
Calculator: Texas Instruments BA II Plus or as approved by department