Course Syllabus

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.

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 in 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

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

• 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.

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 at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

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. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.

You can see this assessment at this link.

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 2.2 CEUs.

PRDV011: Financial Literacy from a Global Perspective is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 22 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

• Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
• Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.