HDFS 283: PERSONAL AND FAMILY FINANCE Fall 2013 Delivery: Online through Blackboard Learn INSTRUCTOR: Jeanna Nation, M.F.C.S., RFC Email: Through Blackboard Learn only Office: 1337 Palmer Enter Palmer HDFS Building, go up the stairs, go back to the Financial Counseling Clinic waiting area (there s a TV mounted on the wall), turn left, go through the door, and my office is the FIRST door on the right. Office hour: Thursday 9-10AM, however I encourage you to see me whenever you need help with the course material or you have other questions or concerns related to your financial situation. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The successful student in this course will develop applicable skills in: Setting specific and attainable financial goals and monitoring progression toward these goals. Making efficient major consumption decisions such as purchasing an automobile or a home. Calculating present value and future value of single amounts, annuities, annuities due, uneven and serial payments. Completing a Form 1040 including the receipt of wages, retirement income, interest, dividends; capital gains, self-employment and rental income or losses; itemized deductions; credits; and estimated or carryover payments. Income and asset protection through the effective use of record keeping, budgeting, credit, insurance, and investing. Retirement and estate planning. Acquiring current information to assist in financial decision making throughout the life cycle. COURSE STRUCTURE: We will be utilizing Blackboard for our assignments, activities, as well as journals. Please become familiar with its functions. This course will be broken down into units. These units are not to be done at your own pace but rather finished according to the dates stated on the syllabus. COURSE POLICIES: If you need to contact the instructor, please do so through Blackboard Learns e-mail function. All correspondence will be sent through iastate.edu e-mail but will be facilitated through Blackboard Learn. Using this feature is the best way to ensure your instructor will receive your message. Your instructor will check e-mail and Blackboard Learn each day of the normal academic calendar. Best efforts will be made to respond to any correspondence by noon of the next academic day. Students should not expect a response to any correspondence over the weekend or on a holiday/academic break.
Best efforts will be made to have grades for all components of this course posted a week from the due date. If an assignment is submitted early, there is no guarantee that it will be graded before the due date. No late work will be recognized. Any late submissions will receive 0 points. Students with Disabilities: Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form from the Student Disability Resource (SDR) office (phone 515-294-7220). SDR is located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076. Academic Integrity: The value of an education at Iowa State University depends greatly upon the quality of academic work and research completed by students at our institution. Each member of the Iowa State community has an opportunity to play an important role in promoting and preserving integrity on campus. The academic work of all students must comply with all university policies on academic honesty. Examples of academic misconduct are: All quizzes are open note; however collaboration with other individuals on quizzes is prohibited. All exams are closed note and collaboration with other individuals is prohibited. Attempting to use unauthorized information (working with other student) in the taking of a quiz; Submitting as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs or other products prepared by another person; Knowingly assisting another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials; or Plagiarism. A useful link to understanding plagiarism, the consequences of plagiarism, and best practices for avoiding plagiarism is available at: http://instr.iastate.libguides.com/content.php?pid=10314. Academic honesty policies are included in the Policy On Academic Dishonesty, Policies and Procedures On Academic Misconduct Investigations, and Code of Computer Ethics and Acceptable Use Policy. These policies are contained in the Student Disciplinary Regulations. In addition, students are responsible for following ethical standards adopted by the various colleges and departments. Overall Course Best Practices: Before you start this course there are a couple of items you will first want to check to ensure you are receiving the course content in an optimal way. 1. Clear your bowser cache-without doing this your quizzes will not submit properly and you will continue to run into problems. Internet Explorer 1. Open the Tools menu. 2. Select Internet Options. 3. Under Browsing History, click Delete (For IE 6 users, click Delete Files). 4. Click Delete All (For IE 6 users, click box next to Delete all offline content). 5. Click Ok (For IE 6 users, click Yes). Firefox 1. Select Clear Recent History from the Tools menu. 2. Check the box next to Cache (deselect other boxes if you do not want to delete that information too). 3. Choose the time frame.
4. Click Clear Now. Safari 1. Open the Safari menu. 2. Select Empty Cache. 3. Click Empty. 2. Do a browser checkup https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/dur-browsercheck-bblearn/module/testbrowser.jsp 3. Ensure you have the most recent version of Java. For a free download please visit http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Required text: Personal Finance, Turning Money Into Wealth. Arthur Keown, 6 th Edition. Computer Requirements: Your computer must support Blackboard Learn capabilities. For more information please visit http://www.celt.iastate.edu/elearning/?page_id=5268. COURSE FORMAT: The course will be broken down into 16 units. The units will start on Monday at 8Am and will end the following Monday at 11AM. Each unit will contain different components so it is vital that careful attention be paid to the schedule. The syllabus and other relevant course information will be posted on Blackboard. The Instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to the course and syllabus throughout the semester. If changes are made, students will be notified by an announcement in class, in Blackboard Learn, and a revised syllabus will be posted. COMPOENTS TO THE COURSE INCLUDE: JOURNALS (12 journals/15 points/ 180 points total) There will be one journal entry due each week there is not an exam throughout the semester. Your journals will vary in content but will be directed with instructions each week. Some weeks you may be responding to questions by providing your opinions, preferences, experiences, etc. Other weeks you may be doing some research and giving your own input to current events. Journals will appear to you in Blackboard Learn each Monday 8AM of this and will close the following Monday at 11AM. You will not have access past the Monday 11AM deadline, thus no late work will be accepted. Any late submissions will receive 0 points. Be sure that you type your responses into the body of the journal, do not attach a document. A rubric will be filled out including instructor feedback for each journal. The rubric is as follows:
An example journal has been included in the unit 1. Please refer there for more detailed information. ASSIGNMENTS (4 assignments/140 points total) 1 - TRACKING YOUR SPENDING (40 POINTS) Throughout the semester there will an additional assignment titled tracking your spending. Tracking your spending will open August 26 th at 8AM and is due on or before November 18, 2013 11AM. This assignment will require you to keep track of your spending for one month and create a summary. Submissions should be done through Blackboard Learn electronically; no hard copies will be accepted. General feedback regarding submissions will be provided no later than one week after the due date. Feedback will be facilitated through Blackboard Learn and will be viewable by students in their Blackboard Learn grade book. No late submissions will be recognized, any late submissions will receive 0 points. The rubric is as follows:
Instructions: Keep track of your spending for a one month period. You may do this in any way that works best for you. After you have done this for the one month period turn in a breakdown of what you have spent your money on, your budget moving forward, and complete an analysis of your current spending habits. Your analysis should be no less than a 2 page report, 1" margins, Times New Roman font, and size 11, 1.5 spaced. This analysis should look at what you are currently spending your money on, what trends you may or may not see, and what, if any, changes you may need to make. Please make sure you submit this assignment by using the "Browse My Computer" feature and searching for your electronic document. Do not copy and paste your assignment into Blackboard Learn. Do not e-mail a copy of this assignment to your instructor. Please note that I will read through all of these. If you don't think something will make complete sense to me, make sure you explain it in your analysis. Also note that your total submission should be more than 2 pages as you need to submit a budget, spending breakdown (how much you spent in different categories), and your 2 page analysis. 2 - CREDIT REPORT (40 POINTS) Credit report will open August 26 th at 8AM and is due on or before November 18, 2013 11AM. This assignment will require you to obtain their credit report via www.annualcreditreport.com and complete a summary. This summary should include what you saw in your report (not details about accounts, rather what kind of information you found), what you think you are doing well, and what you think you should change to help improve the information you see in your report. Submissions should be done through Blackboard Learn electronically; no hard copies will be accepted. General feedback regarding submissions will be provided no later than one week after the due date. Feedback will be facilitated through Blackboard Learn and will be viewable by students in their Blackboard Learn grade book. No late submissions will be recognized, any late submissions will receive 0 points.
The rubric is as follows: Instructions: Your credit is a vital piece of your financial composition. To get on top of your credit, check your free credit report through www.annualcreditreport.com. From there you can choose which of the three credit report agencies you wish to obtain your report; Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Each of these three companies should have similar information within your report, so which one you choose is up to you. When you select the company, you will then be asked to prove your identity. The companies will do this by asking you a series of questions. If you answer a question wrong you will be denied access to your report. Keep in mind, being denied is for YOUR security. If you should be denied access to your credit report you will be given the option to send for your report by mail. To do this you will need to complete a form and some identifying information. Another reason you would be denied access to your credit report is because you do not have enough credit accounts to verify your identity. If you are unable to get a copy of your credit report electronically contact me as soon as possible to make alternate arrangements to satisfy the requirements of this assignment. Because your credit report has incredibly sensitive financial and personal information, therefore YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE YOUR CREDIT REPORT TO ANYONE! I do NOT want a copy of your credit report. Rather I would like you to complete a two page summary consisting of the information you observed in your credit report. Also identifies at least two items regarding how you intend to improve/maintain your credit over time, and what, if anything, you would have changed about your past financial behaviors that are now being reflected in your credit report. Through www.annualcreditreport.com you will not have access to your credit score. If you should choose to purchase your credit score it will cost around $15, depending on which company you select. This assignment DOES NOT require you to purchase your credit score. Your analysis should be no less than a 2 page report, 1" margins, Times New Roman font, and size 11, 1.5 spaced. Please make sure you submit this assignment by using the "Browse My Computer" feature and searching for your electronic document. Do not copy and paste your assignment into Blackboard Learn. Do not e-mail a copy of this assignment to your instructor.
3 TIME VALUE OF MONEY (20 POINTS) Time value of money is involved in almost all facets of financial matters. To ensure students understand these concepts there will be an assignment with 20 time value of money calculations. Each question will be worth 2 points. There will be a separate time value of money tutorial in Panopto that will walk through how to use an online calculator to help solve these problems. Explanations are also provided in chapter 3 of the textbook. The assignment should be completed through the Blackboard Learn assignments tab. This assignment is due no later than September 23, 2013 11AM. No late submissions will be recognized, any late submissions will receive 0 points. 4 TAX CASE STUDY (40 POINTS) Taxes have an impact on many areas of personal finance including but not limited to cash flow/budgeting, insurance, retirement, and estate planning. The basics of taxes come in the form of the federal tax form 1040. To ensure students have a solid understanding of the federal tax system, a case study will be presented and a series of questions will need to be answered. The series of questions will follow the 1040 form. The assignment should be completed through Blackboard Learn. This assignment is due no later than September 23, 2013 11AM. No late submissions will be recognized, any late submissions will receive 0 points. QUIZZES (12 quizzes/20 points/240 points total) To start the semester there will be a syllabus quiz which must be completed with a score of 100% before unit 1 quiz will become available. The quiz is to ensure that you understand how the course is structured and the course requirements. The quiz will only be available for the first unit of course material (see timeline below for specific dates/times). You will have unlimited attempts for this quiz until you reach the 100% score, and you will have 30 minutes for each attempt. There will be a 20 point quiz each unit there is not an exam. Units that have a quiz will test over material from the respective unit. Please note that some units cover more than one chapter. There will be a total of 12 quizzes totaling 240 points. These quizzes will be comprised of 20 true/false and multiple choice questions. For quizzes that will test over more than one chapter, the number of questions will be divided evenly between the testable chapters. Be sure to check the syllabus for exact due dates. You will have 40 minutes to complete the quiz once it is open and you will have 3 attempts. Your highest score will be recorded for a grade. Please note that the quiz questions will be drawn randomly from a test bank, so it is likely you will not see the same questions. If you find a problem with a question, please contact your instructor explaining the problem you have encountered, which attempt you were presented the question, and the question number on that attempt. This information will be needed for your instructor to investigate the reported problem and respond properly.
EXAMS (4 exams/60 points/240 points total) There will be four 60 point exams and questions will be multiple choice, true false, fill in the blank, and short answer. The exams are meant to be closed book taken via Blackboard. You will have 1.5 hours to complete each exam and only one attempt. This may seem like a tight deadline, but those who have studied should have no problem. You should notice those weeks that there are exams, there is also content that will be covered. While you will be able to complete the exam before the content, it is not advisable as the exam will also include that week s course material. It would always be advisable to complete the unit quiz and discussion before completing that unit s exam. Best Practices-Taking a Quiz/Exam: 1. Make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. o A wired connection better than a wireless connection. o If you are using a dial-up connection, make sure you won t be interrupted by a dropped connection from incoming or outgoing phone calls, etc. 2. Run the Browser Check to make sure your software is up-to-date. o Bb Learn requires Java JRE version 6. Windows users download the latest version of Java from http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp. Mac users download the latest version of Java by running the Software Update from the Apple menu. o Make sure you have all the appropriate plug-ins (Flash player, Quicktime, Real Player, etc.) 3. Use a Supported Browser. o View the list of currently supported browsers. o Enable your browser s status bar to see the timer. o Start with a fresh Bb Learn session. Close all open browsers and reopen one just for taking the test. o Turn off all pop-up blockers. o Internet Explorer 8 and 9 users should run in compatibility mode while taking quizzes and tests in Bb Learn. 4. Close all open windows and applications before starting the test. o Avoid starting any software updates at any point while taking a test. 5. Bb Learn has a 1-hour inactivity timeout. o o Clear your schedule for the allotted time for taking the quiz or test. Save your answers after you complete each question. When time expires for a quiz or exam, your submission will automatically be submitted. At that time, any questions that did not have an answer saved will receive 0 points. 6. Three attempts will be allowed for each quiz, one attempt will be allowed for each exam. 7. Each quiz attempt will allow 40 minutes for completion and each exam will allow 1.5 hours for completion.
LECTURES (optional) This is an online course thus there are no traditional lectures that take place. In order to supplement your learning a software program called Panopto will be used within Blackboard to provide online lectures. All lectures will be pre-recorded and will be archived for you to review at any time during or after the unit opens. Some of these lectures will be fairly short while others could be lengthy. There will be a lecture for unit, and if a unit has more than one chapter covered, there will only be one lecture which covers both chapters. Each lecture will be available 8AM of the week the material is being covered and will remain open thereafter. To view the Panopto lectures, click on the link that will be provided in Blackboard in the unit you are trying to view, use your ISU net-id as your username and your ISU password to log in. This will then automatically send you to the lecture you are trying to view. Opening the web page in a new window tends to work best. Please keep in mind that this is an online course which means a lot of self-motivation will be required to learn this material. However, if you have questions and would like to meet in person please contact me to set up a time. I am more than happy to meet individually during office hours or by appointment with students! EXTRA CREDIT (2 maximum/10 points/20 points total) Throughout the semester the University hosts several guest lectures. Often times these lectures have a financial or economic foundation. As I see lectures that are relevant to this course, I will post them on the announcements page. For each item I post I will offer extra credit for a written reflection. Each opportunity will be worth 10 points for a maximum of 20 extra points. If you are unable to attend a lecture but have an idea that you think is worthy of extra credit, please contact me in advance to have it approved. To receive credit your submission should be no less than a 2 page report, 1" margins, Times New Roman font, and size 11, 1.5 spaced and discuss what resonated with you about the approved opportunity. Please make sure you submit this assignment by using the "Browse My Computer" feature and searching for your electronic document. Do not copy and paste your assignment into Blackboard Learn. Do not e-mail a copy of this assignment to your instructor. More information regarding the specifics of extra credit can be found on Blackboard under the Assignments tab. All extra credit submissions are due on or before December 16th at 11AM. The rubric is as follows:
Point Totals: Journaling 180 Quizzes 240 Assignments 140 Exams 240 Total 800 Grading scheme: A 94%+ A- 90%-93% B+ 86%-89% B 82%-85% B- 80%-81% C+ 76%-79% C 72%-75% C- 70%-71% D+ 66%-69% D 62%-65% D- 60%-61% F 59% or below
Unit # Start Date Chapters Covered Activities Due Unit 1 August 26, 2013 8AM Chapters 1-2 Quiz Unit 1 Journal 1 Unit 2 September 2, 2013 8AM Chapter 3 Quiz Unit 2 Journal 2 Unit 3 September 9, 2013 8AM Chapter 4 Quiz Unit 3 Journal 3 Unit 4 September 16, 2013 8AM Review Units Exam 1 (Chapters ) 1-4 Assignments 3 & 4 Unit 5 September 23, 2013 8AM Chapter 5-6 Quiz Unit 5 Journal 5 Unit 6 September 30, 2013 8AM Chapter 7 Quiz Unit 6 Journal 6 Unit 7 October 7, 2013 8AM Chapters 8-9 Quiz Unit 7 Journal 7 Unit 8 October 14, 2013 8AM Review Units Exam 2 (Chapters ) 5-9 Unit 9 October 21, 2013 8AM Chapter 10 Quiz Unit 9 Journal 9 Unit 10 October 28, 2013 8AM Chapter 11 Quiz Unit 10 Journal 10 Unit 11 November 4, 2013 8AM Chapter 12 Quiz Unit 11 Journal 11 Unit 12 November 11, 2013 8AM Review Units Exam 3 (Chapters ) 10-12 Assignments 1 & 2 Unit 13 November 18, 2013 8AM Chapters 13-14 Quiz Unit 13 Journal 13 Unit 14 December 2, 2013 8AM Chapters 15-16 Quiz Unit 14 Journal 14 Unit 15 December 9, 2013 8AM Chapter 17-18 Quiz Unit 15 Journal 15 Extra Credit Unit 16 December 16, 2013 8AM Review Units Exam 4 (Chapters ) 13-18 Due Date September 3, 2013 11AM *Note this unit is due on Tuesday instead of Monday due to the University Holiday.* September 9, 2013 11AM September 16, 2013 11AM September 23, 2013 11AM September 30, 2013 11AM October 7, 2013 11AM October 14, 2013 11AM October 21, 2013 11AM October 28, 2013 11AM November 4, 2013 11AM November 11, 2013 11AM November 18, 2013 11AM December 2, 2013 11AM *Note this unit allows an extra week for completion due to University Holiday.* December 9, 2013 11AM December 16, 2013 11AM December 20, 2013 5PM *Note this deadline is different than others as December 14 th is the end of finals.*