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Personal Finance class provides a Journalism student with valuable skills

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

BY LAURA WOLFE

I decided to take Finance 101: Personal Finance this semester because I needed one more elective before graduating. More importantly, I knew I would personally benefit from what I would learn in this class. As a senior in college about to enter the job market, I will absolutely need to know how to manage my finances. Not only will I need to know about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and how to manage my credit, but as soon as I have a full-time job I will need to know about employee benefit plans and how to save for retirement.

Although I may not enjoy doing bank reconciliations, figuring out the amount of interest paid on different types of loans, or learning about different types of investments, I need to know these concepts for the future.

Finance 101 is combined with Finance 301. Junior- and senior-level students manage a mock investment portfolio in amounts of $100,000. William Lewis, a former executive at Exxon, who teaches Finance 101/301, uses examples in class to which college students can relate to. He talks about buying Starbucks coffee every morning for $4 each. "You're basically stealing from yourself," he said, adding that it would be much more cost effective to make your own coffee, or to just cut coffee out of your routine.

He teaches the benefits of using credit cards instead of debit cards. Credit cards can be used to build credit, without the financial pitfalls of debit cards.

"When you use a debit card and you accidentally spend a dollar more than you have, you get charged $35 in fees," Lewis said. "But when you use a credit card, you've got anywhere between 20-50 days to figure out what to do or to get the money, without being charged those extra fees." However, Lewis also stresses that credit cards should be used wisely. "Don't use credit cards to spend money you don't have," he advises.

Learning to use credit wisely has made an impression on Kylie Knutt, junior in journalism. "I'll definitely remember to use credit cards over debit cards, and not to spend more money than I can pay off each month," she said. Knutt often visits the Finance 101/301 help room, coming in to do her homework in the mornings before classes.

When Lewis came out of retirement to teach the class, the students enrolled were mostly freshmen and sophomores. The class has grown significantly to include juniors and seniors as well as a diverse group of majors from across the University. This semester there has been a waiting list for the class. As the class continues to grow, it will most likely have to be moved to a larger classroom.

"I think it should be a required class," said Gery Kloiber, second-year MBA student and graduate teaching assistant for the course. "What the class gives a person is empowerment. The more you know, the better prepared you are to make these big decisions."

There are many positive things about being involved in this class. I have already reaped benefits from what I have learned, and so have many other students.

Leah Kirkland, senior in communications studies with a Business Minor, used what she learned in class when she bought a new car recently. "I read the chapter in the book about buying cars before the class even started," she said. After her initial research, Kirkland talked to Kloiber about negotiations. "Gery looked over my paperwork and helped me save even more money," she said. "Professor Lewis looked over the papers, too. Both of them were really helpful."

Lewis said he has enjoyed teaching the class. "I've probably scared a lot of people off by making them stand up in the class," he said with a laugh. "But I've enjoyed it, and I try to make it enjoyable for the students, too." Lewis does this by using examples, instead of reading numbers to the class.

The School of Business offers the class to KU students who are pursuing any major, not just B...