The Fundamentals of Personal Finance
$295 | IN-PERSON | 36 Hours (equivalent to 3 credits)
Saturday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Time
Sunday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Time
Offered in collaboration with Hudson County Community College
Instructor: Paola A. Leon
January 18-19, 2025
March 15-16, 2025
May 10-11, 2025
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to teach you the skills to take control of your financial life. Whether you’re looking to save money for travel, pay off debt, or invest for your future, this course will provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to achieve your financial goals. Through a combination of readings, videos, and interactive workshops, you will learn how to create a budget, manage your debt, and implement effective saving strategies.
You’ll also learn about the different types of investments available, including stocks, bonds, real estate and cryptocurrency. In addition, this course will also cover the basics of business money management, including how to save money to start your own business and how to manage your finances after you’ve launched. To help you understand your personal finance style, we will use personality quiz like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to give you a deeper understanding of your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to managing your money.
You will learn about specific known methods such as the snowball debt strategy and other popular techniques for managing debt and increasing savings, including the 50/30/20 rule, the envelope method, and the automatic savings plan. These strategies will help you take control of your finances and achieve your financial goals in a practical and effective way.
ASSIGNMENTS & COMPLETION CERTIFICATE
In addition to the in-person meetings that will take place on Saturday and Sunday, this class will include pre-assignments and post-assignments as part of the 36-hour class.
You will be invited to join Google Classroom 2 weeks before class starts, which is the platform we use for our class. Check your spam folder, as invitations to join Google Classroom sometimes end up there. Please make sure you register for the course with a valid email address, since this is where you will receive the invitation and later, your certificate. Your email has to be Google compatible, so it’s best to use gmail, outlook, hotmail or yahoo. If you do not receive a notification to join Google Classroom, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to contact us.
The pre-assignments will be posted on Google Classroom 2 weeks before class starts. Make sure you join Google Classroom early and complete the assignments BEFORE coming to class. It will take you approximately 9 hours to complete.
The post-assignments will be posted on Google Classroom on the weekend of class, and also consist of 9 hours. You will have 3 weeks to complete the post-assignments. You must complete them in order to receive your course completion certificate. The course completion certificate will be emailed to you, on the following Thursday, after the official class end date.
Early certificates. The earliest that you can receive your certificate is ONE WEEK after the in-person class. You MUST successfully complete all pre- and post- assignments in order to receive your course completion certificate and you must allow at least 3-4 days for your instructor to grade all your work and Classroom Au Pair to issue the certificate. It is NOT possible to complete all work and receive the certificate in ONE day! Email your instructor once you have completed all your work.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is mandatory Saturday and Sunday. If you are late or leave early, you will not receive a course completion certificate. Please note, that this is a weekend intensive class and the days are long. We expect you to come to class well rested and ready to participate.
Saturday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE
– Airfare or other transportation to/from Jersey City or NYC
– Accommodations (You can find a room in Jersey City for around $50-60/night on Airbnb or booking.com)
– Meals (You can either bring your own food to class or purchase at one of the many cafes/pizzerias/delis located close to the school. )
ADDRESS
Hudson County Community College – Continuing Education
161 Newkirk Street
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Room number will be provided on Google Classroom before class start.
If you are driving to class, there is some street parking available free of charge on certain streets (get there earlier so you can drive around and search) or there is a garage right across from the school – State Square Parking at 132 Sip Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306. If you are taking the PATH train, get off at Journal Square.