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Final Reflection 2019


         Most young adults after they’ve graduated wish that they were able to take a class that was purely about money management and how to take care of simple financial duties such as loans, investments, mortgages, taxes and budgeting. For the past three weeks that is exactly what I’ve been doing: essentially taking a money management 101 class. After all, money is what motivates us to do anything; it’s why we go to school, it’s why we get a job, and to many people, it makes them happy. Contrarily money can make some people go crazy, it can make them deppressed and can lead various individuals to make irrational and unethical decisions. In this class, we learned not only the technical definitions of common financial concepts, but also the psychological aspect of money and how if used appropriately, it can be a tool to happiness and fulfillment. 
      There are several ways in which my expectations for this class were certainly met. First, I was able to learn about many foreign financial topics that, if it weren’t for this class, I might have learned about them for the first time in my mid 20’s. Things like managing debt, creating budgets and applying for loans are all things I can feel confident about as I enter adulthood. Next I was able to create a financial plan. The life game simulation certainly helped me out with this. For all my life I’ve desired a big family with many kids of my own, however through this game I’ve learned that I can’t have everything and that each reward comes with a sacrifice. For instance, I might have to give up buying the Lamborghini if I want my kids to go to private school. These are critical life decisions that are better thought about earlier rather than later, and due to this course forcing me to decide in the simulation, I will have an easier time deciding when the real thing comes around. Finally I was able to develop a new passion: Investing! One of my favorite aspects of the course was paper trading stocks on Investopedia. Though I came in last place on the leaderboard, I believe my failures allowed me to learn and grow more than the others in the class. I enjoyed this trading experience so much, that I was inspired to create an actual investing account with real money. So far since I created the account, I’ve made a grand total of $15 in profit. Luckily for me, I made all the mistakes during the simulation. 
      Overall this experience was incredible and I have no regrets choosing it as a J-Term. It made the boring aspects of finance enjoyable through books, movies and games. In addition to the course being fun, it was equally practical. In fact some of the things I learned during the month will be directly applicable to my life in a couple of years; things like taking student loans and paying rent will cease to be a future  circumstance, but rather an immediate reality.  This course is both good for those who know nothing about finance and want to be introduced, but also those who are already experienced and wish to broaden their knowledge through experts and simulations. I would recommend this course to all!

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