3 FIN 107 Discussion Boards for Portfolio
Any discussions that require the use of all rights reserved content are considered supplemental materials.
| Budget Discussion Board | Using the following link,https://www.consumer.gov/articles/1002-making-budget, click on the What It Is, What to Know, and What to Do tabs and read each section, including watching any videos available on the pages.
At the following webpage,https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/budgeting/creating-your-budget, read all of the information on the page including the hyperlinks within the information. Read information found athttps://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools/consider/costs Read the first two sections (Manage Finances and Save Money, Steps to Make a Budget) athttps://www.usa.gov/saving-investing Using information read from all the sites above, post on the Discussion Board the top ten things you learned about budgeting from these readings. Each item should be three sentences, the first being the important point, the second explaining what it means, and the third being why you found it helpful. An example is below: Budgets are a key decision making tool. Budgets help you decide what you must spend money on (utilities for example) and how much money you have leftover for things you want to purchase (clothes). I found this helpful because a budget is not always about what you can’t buy but also allows you to decide what you can buy. After the due date, please read through your classmates posts and comment on at least three of your classmates posts about information you found helpful in their summary. |
| Personal Balance Sheet | Read Section 3.1 at https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_personal-finance/s07-financial-statements.html
Read http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_g/G230.pdf Also look at http://njaes.rutgers.edu/money/pdfs/networthcalcworksheet.pdf Using this information you will create a personal balance sheet (you can use one of the forms included in the links above or create your own) and submit it under the Assignment link (only I will be able to review it). Please also post to the discussion board answering the following questions: 1. How difficult was computing your personal balance sheet? Was all of your information already together? 2. You are welcome to share your net worth but aren’t required to. Did your results surprise you? Why or why not? 3. What strategies can you take to improve your net worth moving forward? |
| Credit Report Discussion Board | Read information found athttps://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports, including watching the video at the top.
Read the following PDF:https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0032-building-a-better-credit-report.pdf Using the information above, you will acquire a free credit report and submit the report under the Assignment link. Please also post to the discussion board answers to the following questions (for each question you should answer with at least one paragraph): What are the main factors that impact your credit report? How do you correct errors found on your credit report? Why does your credit report matter? What can you do to improve your credit report? |
| Tax Information Discussion Board | Based on the reading for the Tax Information Assignment, https://www.usa.gov/taxes, post on the Discussion Board the five most helpful pieces of information you read about. |
| Buying a Home | After reading through the information on the Buying a Home Assignment link, you should now be prepared for purchasing a home. Go to a real estate website (I don’t care which one) and pick a house that you would like to one day own. On the discussion board, write a one paragraph summary of the house (3 bedroom brick house on five acres……) and include the listing price.
Next, using an online mortgage calculator (one is listed below but many exist) look at the monthly mortgage payments under three different circumstances. By different circumstances I mean change the interest rates, term length (15 years vs. 30) and the loan amount (meaning you would pay more or less of a down payment). For example, if the house I picked out was $200,000, I might run a scenario where I borrow the entire $200,000 for 15 years at 4%, a second scenario might be $200,000 for 30 years at 4%, and the last scenario might be $180,000 at 3.75% for 15 years. In a paragraph or two, talk about how the three different scenarios differed and what surprised you about the process. It is important to remember that people were paying as much as 10% interest on mortgages not that long ago. https://www.navyfederal.org/calcs/mortgage-calcs.php
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| Buying a Car | Go to Edmunds.com and pick a new automobile that you would like to purchase, figure out the TMV price for this vehicle after all the options are selected. Check for incentives on this vehicle that might be available. Describe in your post the vehicle you selected, the TMV price, and your strategy for buying this vehicle based on the information you read about in the Buying a Vehicle Assignment.
Next go to bankrate.com and use the calculators to figure out how to pay for this new vehicle, run a couple different scenarios on the term, interest rate, amount financed, etc. Share your results in the post. Also answer the following, is a new car worth it, what have you learned about the car industry that you didn’t know, what mistakes have you made in the past?
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| Insurance Discussion Board | Based on what you learned in the Insurance Assignment readings, call two different insurance companies to get a quote on your vehicle insurance. Post here what information you find, were the prices close, was the coverage comparable, was the agent helpful-basically describe in a couple paragraphs the experience. If you don’t have vehicle insurance, contact me for an alternative assignment. If your insurance is on your parent’s policy, get quotes for acquiring your own coverage. |
| Banking Discussion Board | Based on what you learned in the Banking Assignment, compare three local banks on their fees and services available. Post your analysis here. |
| Retirement Planning | Based on the information you learned in the Retirement Planning Assignment, complete the three retirement calculators below. Post your reaction to these calculations here (did the results surprise you, are you on course, if you aren’t-what are you going to do about it).
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/retirement/retirement-need/ http://www.aarp.org/work/retirement-planning/retirement_calculator.html |
| Estate Planning Discussion Board | Based on what you learned in the Estate Planning Assignment, post your answers to the following questions:
Are you and your family ready if something were to happen? If not, what do you need to do to be more prepared? What was one thing you learned that surprised you from the readings? |
| Living Within Your Means | Read the two articles below and comment on them. How does this relate to what we have learned in class thus far?
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/i-earn-six-figures-and-still-feel-broke-215546862.html A two-three paragraph response is sufficient. |
| College Cost | Read the following articles and share your opinion in a response on whether college is worth the cost. Include your thoughts on a degree in the liberal arts field from a private university that leaves you with $100,000 debt versus an applied associate’s degree in information technology (or other similar examples). Remember there are no right or wrong answers, just differing opinions.
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