Take a Free Personal Finance Course at the University of California, Irvine Online

Do you ever wish you had an opportunity to take a personal finance course in high school or college? Well, thanks to the University of California, Irvine they are providing that opportunity at no cost. They have put together a fairly comprehensive online course that takes you through major personal finance issues and exercises to help you learn more about finance and apply them to your personal life. Here is what they have to say about the program:

In general, committing yourself to the entire course probably involves 25 to 30 hours of effort. There is, of course, no requirement to do the full course. There are no tests; there is no certificate to be earned. The results are what you make them. We hope that you find the information to be helpful.

I have gone through a few of the modules and there is some good information in there. There are even downloadable items such as net worth worksheets and items to help you create a budget. I think this is a great resource for those looking for a good primer course or even a bit of a refresher course on the overall topics that make up personal finance.

Access the Fundamentals of Personal Finance Online Course

I’ve also provided the outline of the course so you can see what types of information will be covered.

General Course Information

Read First: Course Introduction

Module 1: Your Financial Goals

Introduction: Goals
Determining Goals
Changing Words Into Numbers
Doing the Math
Preparing to Plan

Module 2: Figuring Out Where You Are

Introduction
Creating a Net Worth Statement
Creating a Cash Flow Statement

Module 3: Taxation

Taxation

Module 4: Defense – Keeping Bad Things From Interrupting Your Goals

Introduction
Property & Casualty Insurance
Life & Disability Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance

Module 5: Investing

Investment Basics

Module 6: Funding Retirement

Introduction
Social Security & Retirement
Retirement Plans
Medical Care in Retirement
Calculating Retirement Needs

Module 7: Funding Education

College Planning

Module 8: Estate Planning

Estate Planning Basics

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About the Author: Jeremy Vohwinkle is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® and spent a few years working as a financial planner. Today, he helps people make the most of their money by writing about personal finance here and About.com. Jeremy is also Coach at Adaptu and a regular contributor for other publications such as Intuit, and American Express. Be sure to follow Jeremy on Twitter or Google+.