Personal Finance is the Key to Success

Credit card management is only one aspect of personal financial literacy. Ben Bernanke, former Federal Reserve chairman, once said that our financial preparedness is essential to their well-being and of vital importance to our economic future. With the student loan debt rising every year it is imperative that students make financial literacy a priority. Learning as much as you can about personal finance can help you to achieve a higher standard of living, reach personal and professional financial goals and reduce stress by creating good financial habits early on.

Personal finance and planning is not only useful to help manage your finances, it is also a potential career path. According to Halah Touryalai who wrote a book on financial advisors, it is one of the hottest careers that needs young talent. According to Touryalai, of the nation’s 300,000+ financial advisors, many are over 50 years old and less than 5% of them are under 30. Additionally, of that pool, 12,000 to 16,000 retire every year, but not nearly as many are entering the field. This is a career that desperately needs some young talent and that talent could be you!

Professor Michael Griffin offers a personal finance course that is completely online through UMass. It is the perfect course to take this summer if you are interested in learning more about finance as a career or the basics to be in a better financial position personally. The course runs July 19 through August 17 and covers personal finance planning including credit, mortgages, insurance, investing, basic income tax, retirement planning and time value of money.

Please visit the Personal Finance course page for more information and to register for the course.