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I've taught courses in Consumer Math and Personal Finance for over 15 years. Students have told me that these two courses are among the most helpful courses that they've ever taken. This book is a distillation of some of my favorite topics and exercises that I designed over the years for Consumer math and Personal finance. I try to keep the topics as relevant, meaningful and realistic as possible. The dual objectives of this book are to (a) help individuals reach their financial goals and achieve financial stability over their career and lifetime, and (b) foster political and citizen awareness of some of the most pressing civic needs we are faced with in America today.
This book is interactive. There are quite a few links to external sources and calculators that students can easily access to help solve problems. There are links to the exercises, which are saved in Excel or Word format. Online financial calculators are recommended for solving problems whenever possible. While I encourage students to become proficient in Excel and Word, it may be unrealistic to assume that students to have access to the software - hence the use of online calculators that are readily available by doing a simple Google keyword search. Nevertheless, the spreadsheet examples and exercises in the book are accessible via Google Sheets, which is free.
The chapters are organized in sequential format so that students can build on the basic concepts and formulas from the start, and then apply them to progressively more difficult real-world problems. You'll find the budgeting exercises to be particularly helpful in the pursuit of generating surpluses and getting your financial house in order.
As I wrote the text, I found that the book began to take on an increasingly progressive tone – especially in the later chapters dealing with taxes and the exorbitant cost of education and healthcare in America. This is a natural development and reaction considering the urgency of these issues facing most Americans these days. First, I present the real-world problems that we face as consumers and citizens, and then try to provide practical solutions and guidance whenever possible.
Each chapter has a set of review questions. Some are quantitative, applying key formulas and using online interactive calculators whenever possible. Other questions are conceptual and require the reader to think about how to address some of the progressive issues that we face in America today. This edition includes solutions to the end of chapter questions, which appear at the end of the book. You will also find a list of some of my favorite resources at the end of the book.
I hope you enjoy the book. If you have any questions or feedback, please drop me a line at [email protected]
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Richard Warner
