Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2023 - FASS 208 D100

STT-Introduction to Personal Financial Planning for Students (1)

Personal Finance for Students

Class Number: 4721

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Jun 19, 2023: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces students how to optimize their financial resources. Some of the topics which will be covered are debt management, crypto currencies, saving vs investing, creating and maintaining a budget, tax planning strategies, passive income and side hustles, and the importance to networking. The goal is to help students learn and develop the habits needed to reach their financial goals.

COURSE DETAILS:

Are you interested in taking control of your financial future and making informed decisions about your money?

In this course, you'll gain practical skills such as budgeting, saving, investing, and debt management, all while learning from the mistakes and successes of the instructor, who has experienced the ups and downs of personal finance firsthand, from being scammed and wiped out financially to building a successful business and retirement portfolio. By making, but learning from, many mistakes, he has developed a wealth of knowledge and strategies for managing money effectively. 

You will also have the opportunity to explore various investment strategies and financial instruments and learn how to evaluate and choose the best options for your personal financial goals.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • How to save money effectively and the power of compound interest.
  • Smart spending (appreciating vs. depreciation assets) and living within your means (budgeting).
  • Delayed gratification and investing as a way of building wealth.
  • Different storages of wealth: gold, real-estate, crypto-currencies (NFTs, Bitcoin).
  • Safeguarding and improving credit.

FASS 208 runs for 5 weeks (May 8-June 9). The first session is 1 hour, the rest of 4 sessions are 3 hours each. This is a 1 credit course.

Grading

  • Attendance; weekly in-class quizzes; homework 100%

NOTES:

This FASS Forward course is delivered entirely in-person. It is designed to improve your skills for future success and work in this class is expected to be of high quality. A competency-based grading system will be used to assess your academic performance and active participation in all learning activities. That means only a P (pass) or F (fail) will appear on your transcript. There is no numerical equivalent for the final grade, and it does not affect either your grade point average or cumulative grade point average.

  • P (pass) means that you have demonstrated your competency in relation to the learning objectives, met all the criteria for the course, and demonstrated the skills you have acquired.
  • F (fail) means that you do not receive credit for the course.

REQUIREMENTS:

TBD: the instructor might require that written work for this course be submitted via Turnitin, a third-party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin. This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin. Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Students must have access to the internet as well as a computer and/other device that permits word processing and the use of other standard computer applications.

REQUIRED READING:

All reading material will be available online through website links on Canvas.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.