LibGuides: Economics: Personal Finance

Comprehensive Resources

Personal Finance by Chris Boies, Lord Fairfax Community College
This text covers personal budgeting, balance sheets, credit reports, filing taxes, financing housing, vehicles, and insurance, principles of investing, banking, retirement, estate planning, and understanding the cost of college.
Personal Finance by Rachel S. Siegel
ISBN: 9780982361863

Publication Date: 2009

Personal Finance includes personal finance planning problems with links to solutions, and personal application exercises, with links to their associated worksheet(s) or spreadsheet(s). In addition, the text boasts a large number of links to videos, podcasts, experts' tips or blogs, and magazine articles to illustrate the practical applications for concepts covered in the text.

Textbooks & Readings

Student Success: An invaluable resource for college and university students by Mary Shier
ISBN: 978-1-77420-079-7

Publication Date: 2020

Chapter 12 of this text focuses on Financial Aid and Funding options to help with financing a college education.

College Success Concise: 7.4 Paying for College
Questions to Consider: What choices should you consider when taking on student debt? How do you match debt to postgraduate income? What types of financial aid are available? How do you apply for financial aid? What are the best repayment strategies? As you progress through your college experience, the cost of college can add up rapidly. Worse, your anxiety about the cost of college may rise faster as you hear about the rising costs of college and the horror stories regarding the “student loan crisis.” It is important to remember that you are in control of your choices and the cost of your college experience, and you do not have to be a sad statistic.
Contemporary Mathematics: 6.9 Understanding Student Loans
After completing this section, you should be able to: Describe how to obtain a student loan. Distinguish between federal and private student loans and state distinctions. Understand the limits on student loans. Summarize the standard prepayment plan. Understand student loan consolidation. Summarize and describe benefits or drawbacks of other repayment plans. Summarize possible courses of action if a student loan defaults.
Cornerstone Experience: Chapter 11: Financial Management - Finances in College
By the end of this section, you will be able to identify sources of major and minor expenses in your life when attending college. You will explore sources of financial assistance and strategies for applying for financial aid. You will also explore federal grants and scholarships as financial aid support for college and factors in borrowing and repaying student loan debt. In addition, you will be able to explain strategies for financial decision-making and goal setting for your college education.
Cornerstone Experience: Chapter 11: Financial Management - Working While in College
By the end of this section, you will be able to explore characteristics of employment opportunities for college students. You will be able to describe the pros and cons of working while in college. In addition, you will be able to identify employment resources on campus and in the community.

Math in Society from a Diversity and Social Justice Lens: Section 10: Basics of Personal Income Taxes
This section covers the basic principles behind how personal income taxes in the United States are calculated. This lesson is intended to be a high-level overview of the process. Laws and regulations regarding taxes change every year — including qualifying deductions, eligible tax credits, income brackets, and the actual tax percentages themselves. So while the process here should be accurate, the numbers will change from year to year.
Contemporary Mathematics: 6.13 Income Tax
After completing this section, you should be able to: Determine gross, adjusted gross, and taxable income. Apply exemptions, deductions, and credits to basic income tax calculations. Compute FICA tax. Solve tax application problems for working students.

College Success: Chapter 5: Student Finances - Budgeting
This section of a larger book teaches students how to manage their personal finances and develop a budget to help them live within their means.
Cornerstone Experience: Chapter 11: Financial Management - Budgeting & Saving
By the end of this section, you will be able to describe budgeting strategies and the pros and cons of budgeting. You will identify the steps necessary to create a personal budget and explore factors in financial savings for college students.
College Success Concise: 7.2 Savings, Expenses, and Budgeting
Questions to Consider: How is the flow of money best measured? How do I keep things balanced? You map your financial path using a spending and savings plan, or budget, which tracks your income, savings, and spending. You check on your progress using a balance sheet that lists your assets, or what you own, and your liabilities, or what you owe. A balance sheet is like a snapshot, a moment in time, that we use to check our progress.
Contemporary Mathematics 6.5 Making a Personal Budget Contemporary Mathematics: 6.5 Making a Personal Budget
After completing this section, you should be able to: Create a personal budget with the categories of expenses and income. Apply general guidelines for a budget.

Money and Banking by Richard E. Wright; Richard; Robert E. Wright; Vincenzo Quadrini
ISBN: 9780982043080

Publication Date: 2009-01-01

The financial crisis of 2007-8 has already revolutionized institutions, markets, and regulation. Wright's Money and Banking V 2.0 captures those revolutionary changes and packages them in a way that engages undergraduates enrolled in Money and Banking and Financial Institutions and Markets courses.

Cornerstone Experience: Chapter 11: Financial Management - Credit Strategies
By the end of this section, you will be able to describe the opportunities, risks, and rewards of owning a credit card. You will also be able to explain factors contributing to your credit score and identify resources for assistance with credit issues.
College Success Concise: 7.3 Credit Cards
Questions to Consider: How dangerous is debt? What should I think about when getting and using a credit card? What is the purpose of a credit score? Yes, taking on too much debt can (and does) have disastrous effects on people’s personal finances, but if used appropriately, debt can be a tool to help you build wealth. Debt is like fire. You can use it to keep yourself warm, cook food, and ward off animals—but if you don’t know how to control it, it’ll burn your house down.
Contemporary Mathematics: 6.10 Credit Cards
After completing this section, you should be able to: Apply for a credit card armed with basic knowledge. Distinguish between three basic types of credit cards. Compare and contrast the benefits and drawbacks of credit cards. Read and understand the basic parts of a credit card statement. Compute interest, balance due, and minimum payment due for a credit card.

Introduction to Investments by Frank Paiano, Southwestern Community College
Welcome! This is the companion textbook for BUS-123, Introduction to Investments, at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, California USA. All the course material is freely available on the class website. (https://wonderprofessor.com/123)
Financial Empowerment: Personal Finance for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People by Bettina Schneider
ISBN: 9780889775497

Publication Date: 2018-08-31

Financial Empowerment is designed for a single-semester introduction to financial planning and decision-making, in order to provide first and second-year students with the necessary financial literacy and skills needed to make sound financial decisions, assess financial risk, and achieve financial success. This textbook attempts to speak to the varied backgrounds, knowledge systems, and experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians by providing Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on personal finance and financial planning using examples and information from Elders, the Canadian financial system, and the economy. Additional resources can be found at https://www.uregina.ca/oer-publishing/index.html.

Contemporary Mathematics: 6.7 Investments
After completing this section, you should be able to: Distinguish between basic forms of investments including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Understand what bonds are and how bond investments work. Understand how stocks are purchased and gain or lose value. Read and derive information from a stock table. Define a mutual fund and how to invest. Compute return on investment for basic forms of investments. Compute future value of investments. Compute payment to reach a financial goal. Identify and distinguish between retirement savings accounts.