{"603849":{"#nid":"603849","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Personal Finance 101","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInduja Kannan is majoring in finance, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean she knows how to manage her own finances.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo fix that she signed up for Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/intaadvising.gatech.edu\/registration\/new-personal-finance-course-for-spring-2018\/\u0022\u003Enew personal finance course\u003C\/a\u003E. The one-credit elective shows students how to set a budget and manage expenses. It includes a focus on investing at an early age.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I really hadn\u0026rsquo;t put a lot of consideration into my own finances and thinking about everything that goes into setting my budget and balancing my current expenses and putting away for the future,\u0026rdquo; said Kannan, a third-year student. \u0026ldquo;I just wasn\u0026rsquo;t aware of everything I didn\u0026rsquo;t know.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIncreased awareness is just one lesson students get from the class, said Jonathan Clarke, associate professor of finance in the Scheller College of Business.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile most students wanted to jump to the sections on investing, Clarke structured the course to open with fundamental lessons on budgeting, setting financial goals and managing debt.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClarke has experience teaching personal finance. He\u0026rsquo;s taught the subject for the National Football League and developed the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pe.gatech.edu\/courses\/wall-street-west-peachtree\u0022\u003EWall Street on West Peachtree\u003C\/a\u003E summer program for high school students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe elective is open to students from all majors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I thought I could design a course for Tech students that touched on all of the basics of personal finance,\u0026rdquo; said Clarke, associate dean of undergraduate programs in the Scheller College. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s important material. Being financially secure can lower stress and improve mental health.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESteven Girardot, associate vice provost for undergraduate education, approached Clarke about developing the class after hearing students wanted more information on this subject. Financial literacy among students is also a priority of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.completegeorgia.org\/\u0022\u003EComplete College Georgia\u003C\/a\u003E, he noted.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring a recent class, they discussed the volatile stock market and Clarke advised students not to panic. He reminded them to look at what will happen over the course of 50 years, not five days.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring other classes they weighed the questions that should be asked when determining whether it\u0026rsquo;s better to buy or rent a home. They reviewed car buying tips, such as negotiating the car purchase price and trade-in value separately. They discussed retirement investments and how to choose a health insurance plan.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EJordan Bergenfeld, a fifth-year mechanical engineering major, signed up for the course after asking his advisor about a class on investments.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m getting job offers and I don\u0026rsquo;t know how to evaluate them when they\u0026rsquo;re talking about stock options and other benefits,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;I really just want to make sure I\u0026rsquo;m doing what I can to have a good financial future. I\u0026rsquo;ve already recommended this class to a bunch of friends.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe class will be offered again this summer, Clarke said. He\u0026rsquo;s exploring ways to offer the class online and to make it a permanent fixture at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EApurva Kasam, a fourth-year business administration major, will graduate this fall and appreciated learning how to balance expenses and savings.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This should be a required class for everyone,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;Georgia Tech does a good job preparing us for our careers. This class is about giving us the personal preparation for our lives.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new Georgia Tech elective teaches students how to manage their finances before they graduate and embark on careers.\u0026nbsp;The personal finance class is open to all majors and\u0026nbsp;shows students how to set a budget, manage expenses and begin investing at an early age.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New Georgia Tech elective teaches students how to manage their finances before they graduate and embark on careers.  "}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2018-03-15 15:54:49","changed_gmt":"2018-03-15 18:08:59","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-03-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-03-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"603848":{"id":"603848","type":"image","title":"Personal finance class - Jonathan Clarke","body":null,"created":"1521129036","gmt_created":"2018-03-15 15:50:36","changed":"1521129036","gmt_changed":"2018-03-15 15:50:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230148","name":"N18C10302_P34_014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302_P34_014.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302_P34_014.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":495249,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/N18C10302_P34_014.jpg?itok=dYDjMd0r"}},"603847":{"id":"603847","type":"image","title":"Personal finance class - students","body":null,"created":"1521128864","gmt_created":"2018-03-15 15:47:44","changed":"1521128864","gmt_changed":"2018-03-15 15:47:44","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230147","name":"N18C10302_P34_001.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302_P34_001.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302_P34_001.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":445080,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/N18C10302_P34_001.jpg?itok=AuAR4ZS3"}}},"media_ids":["603848","603847"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8761","name":"undefined"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMedia Relations\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404-660-2927\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}