Personal Finance

Abstract

The text may be divided into five sections: 1. Learning Basic Skills, Knowledge, and Context (Chapter 1 "Personal Financial Planning"–Chapter 6 "Taxes and Tax Planning") 2. Getting What You Want (Chapter 7 "Financial Management"–Chapter 9 "Buying a Home") 3. Protecting What You’ve Got (Chapter 10 "Personal Risk Management: Insurance"–Chapter 11 "Personal Risk Management: Retirement and Estate Planning") 4. Building Wealth (Chapter 12 "Investing"–Chapter 17 "Investing in Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real Estate, and Collectibles") 5. How to Get Started (Chapter 18 "Career Planning") This structure is based on the typical life cycle of personal financial decisions, which in turn is based on the premise that in a market economy, an individual participates by trading something of value: labor or capital. Most of us start with nothing to trade but labor. We hope to sustain our desired lifestyle on the earnings from labor and to gradually (or quickly) amass capital that will then provide additional earnings