Welcome to PRDV011: Financial Literacy

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

 

Course Description

Explore the basics of financial literacy, personal money management, financial planning, and investment strategies. Applications in personal finance include creating financial goals, budgeting and saving, consumer credit, loans and debt, personal bankruptcy, insurance, investment and retirement, mutual funds, the stock market, taxes, fraud, and sustainability.

 

Course Introduction

In this course, we explore the basics of financial literacy, emphasizing personal money management, financial planning, and investment strategies. Applications in personal finance include creating financial goals, budgeting and saving, consumer credit, loans and debt, personal bankruptcy, insurance, investment and retirement, mutual funds, the stock market, taxes, fraud, and sustainability.

We will explore the foundational aspects of financial literacy and provide a rich, practical understanding that prepares learners to navigate financial decisions, economic uncertainties, and personal disruptions in a globalized world.

The 2012 Standard and Poor's Global FinLit Survey discovered knowledge gaps among demographic groups. Men, young people, wealthy individuals, and bank account holders are more financially literate than their social counterparts – women, the poor and elderly, and those lacking bank accounts (the unbanked).

We discuss the connection between financial illiteracy and poverty. We can bridge this divide by sharing our research and investing sustainable solutions. Students should use what they learn in the course with indigenous knowledge systems to affect meaningful change in their communities through education, capacity building, skills transfer, and advocacy.

This course includes the following units:

  • Unit 1: Establishing Financial Goals
  • Unit 2: Budgeting and Saving
  • Unit 3: Credit Cards and Consumer Borrowing
  • Unit 4: Loans and Debt
  • Unit 5: Insurance
  • Unit 6: Investing and Retirement
  • Unit 7: Taxes and Tax Forms
  • Unit 8: Careers and Education
  • Unit 9: Financial Scams and Fraud
  • Unit 10: Trends in Global Finance

 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Discuss strategies for creating appropriate SMART financial goals;
  • Outline how to prepare a personal budget and the financial benefits of saving;
  • Define credit score and the benefits and risks of consumer credit options;
  • Explain common terms and conditions consumers adopt when they borrow money and manage debt;
  • Discuss the types and terms of various insurance plans consumers and businesses purchase to protect themselves, their families, and their property;
  • Describe strategies for increasing the value of savings and investments as you plan for retirement;
  • Explain the purpose, benefits, and costs of paying and managing taxes;
  • Discuss how career planning, education, and training affect your financial future;
  • Identify frauds and scams and ways to safeguard your personal information and money; and
  • Discuss how technology, socially responsible investing (SRI), and the environmental, social, and government (ESG) movement have affected global financial markets.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

 

Course Materials

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.

 

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you may take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. Once you have successfully passed the final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.

There are also end-of-unit assessments in this course. These are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.


Tips for Success

PRDV011: Financial Literacy is a self-paced course, which means that you can decide when you will start and when you will complete the course. There is no instructor or an assigned schedule to follow. We estimate that the "average" student will take 22 hours to complete this course. We recommend that you work through the course at a comfortable pace that allows you to make regular progress. It's also a good idea to schedule your study time in advance and try to stick to that schedule as best as you can.

Learning new material can be challenging, so we've compiled a few study strategies to help you succeed:

  • Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories that you come across. This can help you put each concept into context and will create a refresher that you can use as you study later on.
  • As you work through the materials, take some time to test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned is important for your long-term memory and will make you more likely to retain information over time.

 

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.

  • To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, you will need to log in to your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one for free here. Although you can access the course materials without logging in to your account, you should log in to maximize your course experience. For example, you cannot take assessments or track your progress unless you are logged in.

For additional guidance, check out Saylor Academy's FAQ.

 

Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. Everything linked in the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, is available for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.

Last modified: Tuesday, 7 January 2025, 2:39 PM