Published: July 2020
Page Count: 446
ISBN (Digital): 978-1-4533-3481-2

Personal Finance

Version 3.1
By Rachel S. Siegel

Included Supplements

Homework

Manual

Slides

Tests

Key Features

Includes over 370 hyperlinks to videos and webpages to enrich online courses, engage students, and reinforce or augment many of the presented topics.
Divided into five sections that reflect the typical cycle of personal financial decisions:
- Learning Basic Skills, Knowledge, and Context (Chs. 1-6)
- Getting What You Want (Chs. 7-9)
- Protecting What You’ve Got (Chs. 10 & 11)
- Building Wealth (Chs. 12-17)
- Getting Started (Ch. 18)
Presents clear Learning Objectives, Key Takeaways, and exercise problems in each section.
Features personal financial planning problems, solutions, and exercises.
Customizable.

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Personal Finance was written with two simple goals in mind: to help students develop a strong sense of financial literacy and provide a wide range of pedagogical aids to keep them engaged and on track. This book is a practical introduction that covers all of the fundamentals and introduces conceptual frameworks, such as the life cycle of financial decisions and basic market dynamics, in a way that students can easily grasp and readily use in their personal lives.

New in This Version

New “Do the Math” sections in appropriate chapters provide additional opportunities for students to practice math, calculator, and spreadsheet skills using quantitative models and applications.
Expanded explanations of math steps and calculations (Chapter 4 “Evaluating Choices: Time, Risk, and Value”).
Reflects changes created by 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Chapter 6 “Taxes and Tax Planning”).
Reflects changes created by 2019’s Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (Chapter 11 “Personal Risk Management: Retirement and Estate Planning”).
Includes a more in-depth discussion of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) (Chapter 17 “Investing in Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real Estate, and Collectibles”).
Presents additional web-based platforms (Chapter 18 “Career Planning”)
FlatWorld Homework product is expanded to include more items that require mathematical calculation.

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Individual or “Micro” Factors That Affect Financial Thinking

1.3 Systemic or “Macro” Factors That Affect Financial Thinking

1.4 The Planning Process

1.5 Financial Planning Professionals

Chapter 2: Basic Ideas of Finance

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Income and Expenses

2.3 Assets

2.4 Debt and Equity

2.5 Income and Risk

Chapter 3: Financial Statements

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Accounting and Financial Statements

3.3 Comparing and Analyzing Financial Statements

3.4 Accounting Software: An Overview

Chapter 4: Evaluating Choices: Time, Risk, and Value

4.1 Introduction

4.2 The Time Value of Money

4.3 Calculating the Relationship of Time and Value

4.4 Valuing a Series of Cash Flows

4.5 Using Financial Statements to Evaluate Financial Choices

4.6 Evaluating Risk

4.7 Do the Math

Chapter 5: Financial Plans: Budgets

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The Budget Process

5.3 Creating the Comprehensive Budget

5.4 The Details of Budgeting and Specialized Budgets

5.5 Budget Variances

5.6 Budgets, Financial Statements, and Financial Decisions

5.7 Do the Math

Chapter 6: Taxes and Tax Planning

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Sources of Taxation and Kinds of Taxes

6.3 The U.S. Federal Income Tax Process

6.4 Record Keeping, Preparation, and Filing

6.5 Taxes and Financial Planning

6.6 Do the Math

Chapter 7: Financial Management

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Your Own Money: Cash

7.3 Your Own Money: Savings

7.4 Other People’s Money: Credit

7.5 Other People’s Money: An Introduction to Debt

Chapter 8: Consumer Strategies

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Consumer Purchases

8.3 A Major Purchase: Buying a Car

Chapter 9: Buying a Home

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Identify the Product and the Market

9.3 Identify the Financing

9.4 Purchasing and Owning Your Home

9.5 Do the Math

Chapter 10: Personal Risk Management: Insurance

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Insuring Your Property

10.3 Insuring Your Health

10.4 Insuring Your Income

Chapter 11: Personal Risk Management: Retirement and Estate Planning

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Retirement Planning: Projecting Needs

11.3 Retirement Planning: Ways to Save

11.4 Estate Planning

11.5 Do the Math

Chapter 12: Investing

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Investments and Markets: A Brief Overview

12.3 Investment Planning

12.4 Measuring Return and Risk

12.5 Diversification: Return with Less Risk

12.6 Do the Math

Chapter 13: Behavioral Finance and Market Behavior

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Investor Behavior

13.3 Market Behavior

13.4 Extreme Market Behavior

13.5 Behavioral Finance and Investment Strategies

Chapter 14: The Practice of Investment

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Investment Information

14.3 Investing and Trading

14.4 Ethics and Regulation

14.5 Investing Internationally: Risks and Regulations

Chapter 15: Owning Stocks

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Stocks and Stock Markets

15.3 Stock Value

15.4 Common Measures of Value

15.5 Equity Strategies

15.6 Do the Math

Chapter 16: Owning Bonds

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Bonds and Bond Markets

16.3 Bond Value

16.4 Bond Strategies

Chapter 17: Investing in Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real Estate, and Collectibles

17.1 Introduction

17.2 Mutual Funds

17.3 Real Estate Investments

17.4 Commodities and Collectibles

17.5 Do the Math

Chapter 18: Career Planning

18.1 Introduction

18.2 Choosing a Job

18.3 Finding a Job

18.4 Leaving a Job

Appendix A: Present Value and Future Value Tables

FlatWorld Homework

FlatWorld Homework includes multi-format questions written specifically for your FlatWorld book, which you can access through our stand-alone interface or integrate with your learning management system.

Instructor’s Manual

The Instructor’s Manual guides you through the main concepts of each chapter and important elements such as learning objectives, key terms, and key takeaways. Can include answers to chapter exercises, group activity suggestions, and discussion questions.

PowerPoint Lecture Notes

A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key learning objectives and the main concepts for each chapter are available for you to use in your classroom. You can either cut and paste sections or use the presentation as a whole.

Test Generator - powered by Cognero

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Test Bank Files for Import to Learning Management Systems

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Test Item File

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Sample Syllabi

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Rachel S. Siegel

Northern Vermont University

Rachel S. Siegel (MBA Yale University, CFA) was a professor of finance, economics, and accounting at Vermont State University from 1990–2016. She has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Trinity College (Vermont), Granite State College (New Hampshire), Springfield College (Massachusetts), the University of Vermont, and in Tel Aviv, Israel, for Champlain College. Rachel has been a consultant to the CFA Institute on exam development, data forensics, and curricula, and has consulted on various exam prep courses in finance. She has also developed a freelance career as a financial editor and writer, for both investment firms and academics. Her column “Follow the Money” has been a regular feature of the Northstar Monthly since 2001. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Rachel now lives in Barnet, Vermont.

Additions & Errata

9/25/23: Incorrect table values updated in tables 4.9–4.13; adjusted the wording of Chapter 6 Do the Math question 1 (c) which was missing information. Question now reads as follows: "If your federal income tax obligation is $50,000 at a 32% tax rate, what was your taxable income?"