Professor of Finance, Ross School of Business
Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making
What You'll Learn
- Why finance is everywhere and how it affects all of us
- Gain the fundamental knowledge, skills, and tools of finance and the ability to apply them everywhere, in personal and professional situations
- The concept of Time Value of Money (TVM) and apply related tools and frameworks to everyday decisions
6 Modules
36 Hours
6 hrs per module (approx.)
About Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making
Want to learn how to think clearly about important financial decisions and improve your financial literacy? Finance for Everyone will showcase the beauty and power of finance. This introductory finance course will be a gateway into the world of finance and will examine multiple applications to apply to your everyday life. Join us to better understand how to apply frameworks and tools to make smart financial choices.
You will be able to value the impact of different choices available to you: from renting or buying, evaluating car, home and student loans, or deciding whether to go to college versus pursuing a new idea to simply understanding how the financial world works.
Starting with time value of money, the course will help you develop a full appreciation for the many applications of finance. Using real world examples, the course will enable you to understand and analyze many personal and professional decisions we confront on a daily basis. You will understand stocks and bonds, learn to allocate scarce resources in a value-add way, and adopt smart tools for making every day decisions.
Finance is simultaneously a way of thinking and a set of tools. Finance is everywhere. There are no prerequisites for this course except for a sense of curiosity and a positive attitude. However, a comfort level with algebra and numbers and an understanding of accounting (the language of business) will clearly help. We will, however, try to cover everything starting with fundamentals and highlight when there is a need to do some further work in specific subjects.
Skills You'll Gain
- Budgeting
- Decision Making
- Finance
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Literacy
- Loans
- Time Value Of Money
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making introduces core financial concepts in a clear, beginner-friendly format designed for practical use. This self-paced course focuses on modular learning to help you build confidence in financial decision-making without prior experience. You will explore foundational ideas through short assessments that emphasize real-world application and accessibility.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Introduction to the Course
- Why Finance?
- Why Finance for Everyone?
- The Process
- The Philosophy
- Pre-Requisites
- The Assumptions
- Thanks!
- Survey
Module 2: The Basics
- Some Conventions and Terminology
- What is a Rate of Return?
- Simple Future Value - An Example
- Simple Future Value - A Formalization
- Future Value - Multiple Periods
- Future Value - More Examples
- Future Value - Using Excel
- Excel - A Convention
- Future Value - Power of Compounding
- Simple Present Value
- Present Value - Multiple Periods
- Present Value - Power of Discounting
- Note - Formulae
- Note - Spreadsheets
- Practice Assignment 1
- Graded Assignment 1 (2 Questions)
Module 3: Simple Applications
- Simple Application 1 - Future Value of an Annuity
- FV Examples
- Simple Application 2 - Present Value of an Annuity
- PV Examples
- Perpetuities
- Practice Assignment 2
- Graded Assignment 2 (2 Questions)
Module 4: Advanced Applications
- Mega Application 1: The Fundamentals of a Loan
- Mega Application 2: Saving for College
- Mega Application 3: Financial Planning
- Mega Application 4: Making Complex Simple
- Practice Assignment 3
- Graded Assignment 3 (2 Questions)
- Discussion: How Are You Doing?
Module 5: Special Application: Bonds
- What are Bonds?
- Structure of Bonds
- Government Bonds: Zero Coupon
- Yield to Maturity
- Coupon Paying Bonds
- Prices versus Interest Rates
- Real Data on Bond Markets
- Practice Assignment 4
- Graded Assignment 4 (2 Questions)
Module 6: Special Application: Stocks
- Stocks - Background and Definition
- Stocks versus Bonds
- Stocks - Some Data
- Pricing a Stock
- Pricing a Stock - Details
- Dividend and Growth Stocks
- Stocks - Some Real World Data
- Practice Assignment 5
- Graded Assignment 5 (2 Questions)
Module 7: Wrap Up & What Next?
- Lessons and Personal Investing
- Fundamentals of Personal Investing
- What Next in Course & Beyond
- Graded Final Exam (2 Questions)
- Post-Course Survey
Grading Policy
To pass the course, learners must earn at least 70% overall. Five graded assignments together account for 75% of the final grade, and the final exam accounts for 25%. Each graded assessment allows two attempts, and all scores contribute to the final grade.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
Some familiarity with basic algebra is helpful.
