TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

The Fox School of Business

RMI 2501 Section: 401 Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning
2017 Spring Session, Wednesday - 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
TUCC 420
William A. Martorano, MBA
Adjunct Professor
Department of Risk, Insurance and Healthcare Management
Phone: (856) 217-7436 - cell
Hours: by appointment
E-mail: william.martorano@temple.edu

Required Text:
Personal Finance: Turning Money into Wealth, 7th Edition, Arthur J. Keown
ISBN-10: 0133973425 - ISBN-13: 9780133973426 Prentice Hall copyright 2016.
You do NOT need to purchase the MyLab module.
Overview:
Managing your finances is an important and needed skill in society today. This course explores the
areas needed to manage household and personal finances. This non-technical course will prepare
students to make more informed decisions in a complicated financial world, enabling them to reach
their financial goals. Some of the topics explored will include, but are not limited to: Creating and
managing budgets, taxes, savings, estate planning, retirement goals, major purchases, risk
management and insurance planning, credit cards, loans, investments, and interest rates.

The goals of this course are as follows:

Learn how money works

Learn how to prepare a personal budget and personal financial statements
Explore savings alternatives, and tax planning as they relate to individuals
Understand how consumer credit is awarded and how it should be used
Understand the process for making major purchases; e.g., car and home
Understand the basic principles of risk management and types of insurance
Know the role of property and casualty insurance
Know the role of health and disability insurance
Understand the different types of life insurance
Become knowledgeable about personal-retirement saving
Basic understanding of estate planning
Understand the role of financial institutions and the use of checking and savings accounts
Understand the basic structure of our income tax system and how to prepare a basic tax return
Understand why investing is important
Understand and explore the relationship between risk and return and the impact of this
relationship on investment choices
Identify and understand the characteristics of alternative types of investments
Understand the costs and benefits of a college education
Understand how to finance a college education

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Grading Procedures
Your final grade consists of scores on two exams each worth 200 points each and homework /quizzes
worth a total of 200 points. See below:
Component of Grade
Exam # 1
Exam #2
Homework/Quizzes
Total

Maximum Points
200
200
200
600

Determining your final grade:

At the end of the semester, all of the points you have accumulated during the course will be totaled
and then your grade will be determined according to Point Range/Grade Scale below.
Point Range
600 560
559 540
539 525
524 500
499 480
479 460
459 440
439 420
419 400
399 390
389 360
<360

Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF

Extra Credit:
There is extra credit of up to 30 points in this course. The first 20 points is for attendance as
outlined in the classroom attendance section below and there is an additional 10 points for
completing a brief written paper after one of the homework assigments. Extra credit points are
applied to your final point total for the course so obtaining them will increase your overall total
grade for the course by a maximum of 30 points.
Final letter grades will be determined according to the scale above. There is no curve in this
class and no extra credit assignments will be available beyond those already listed will be
provided.

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Exams and Quizzes:

The format for the exams consists of multiple choice type questions, short answer/essay and
quantitative problems. Material for the exams will come from the lecture notes and homework, for
the most part, but will also come from assigned portions of any readings from the text. I will
announce the exact date for each exam in class a week prior to the exam date. Exams are not
cumulative: that is, they will only cover material since the last exam. Please note that there
will be no makeup exams given except for extreme, extenuating circumstances and must be
discussed with me prior to the exam date.
Quizzes will be multiple choice questions from chapters and material previously covered.
Classroom Attendance:
Attendance will be taken each class period after the 1st class. I do not post lecture notes on
Blackboard so it is imperative that you arrive on time and take your own notes. If you do not
attend class and take good notes on a regular basis, it will be extremely difficult to do well in this
course.
During the first three class periods, we will construct a seating chart. Please remember to sit in
your seat for each class.
Attending class and arriving on time will provide an opportunity for you to earn 20 extra credit
points. To receive the attendance credit for the course you cannot miss more than two
classes during the semester. To be considered in attendance for a class, you must be in class at
the beginning of class when attendance is taken and must be in class at the end when attendance is
taken again. If you arrive late or leave early, you may not get attendance credit for that particular
class. Extra credit is only earned on lecture classes therefore, no extra is earned on class days where
only an exam is given. I believe in treating all my students as adults and as such, I expect you to be
responsible to attend class. Please note this is just extra credit you are not penalized in
any way for missing class you just earn extra points for good attendence and arriving to
class on-time.
Homework:
Homework will be based on lecture notes and readings from the Textbook. Homework must be
turned in at the start of class the night it is due. Any homework turned in after class has started is
considered late and will be subject to a 20% grade reduction penalty. Homework is not accepted
via email under any circumstance unless approved in advance. You must deliver a hard copy to me
or submit the assignment in Blackboard if instructed to do so.

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Return of Homework, Exams, and Quizzes:

Exams and Quizzes will be returned in class for a quick review and notification of your score. You
will not be able to keep them. If you want to review in further detail, please make arrangements
with me. Homework will be returned for you to keep. Please keep your homework throughout the
semester. If a grading discrepancy exists at the end of the semester, you will need proof (hard copy
of the homework) for your request to be considered. If you want to review your
homework/exam/quiz in detail, you will have 3 weeks after return of the item to review (for grade
change purposes), i.e. at the end of the semester we are not going over every question from the
first exam at that point we can review you last exam, but I will not review every homework quiz,
and exam from the entire semester with you after the course is completed. You must contact me
in a timely manner if you want a detailed review of a specific exam. If it is an exam that is the final
or it is returned at the end of the semester, the 3-week clock will begin at the start of the next
semester.
Ethical Behavior:
I expect all students to conduct themselves with the highest degree of ethical behavior. I will not
tolerate dishonest or unethical behavior. A breach of the academic policy of Temple University
regarding plagiarism or academic cheating will be considered grounds for failing this course.
Students are directed to the following link of the Undergraduate Bulletin regarding Plagiarism and
Academic Cheating:
http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/ugradbulletin/acadpolicies.htm
Student Responsibilities When Absent From Class:
Any student who is absent, for any reason, is responsible for any announcements or information
concerning this course given during their period of absence. Students absent for any reason are
also responsible any work assigned during their absence and to find another student or students
from whom they can get the notes they missed in class.

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Class Administrative Issues:

Office Hours and Preferred Method of Contact:
Since I am an Adjunct Faculty member I do not have an office here at Temple so the best way to
reach me is via my email address: william.martorano@temple.edu. If you have an urgent issue and
need to reach me immediately, you may call my phone at (856) 217-7436. Since I work full time, it
is often easier for me to response to an email than to answer my cell phone. Emails and telephone
messages received on weekdays will be returned within 24 hour, even if the University is closed.
Emails and telephone messages received during the weekend (5PM Friday until 9AM Monday) may
not be answered until the next business day.
If you need to meet with me face to face, contacting me at either of the above and I will make
arrangements for us to meet.
Please no text messages. Prior to sending me an email, please ensure that it is concise and
professionally written. I would prefer to receive emails from your Temple University Email account
rather than your personal email address.
Communications, E-Mail Accounts and Blackboard:
I intend to use Blackboard and email for all class communications, particularly outside of the
classroom therefore, each student should have access to this course in Blackboard and please use
your Temple email address with your firstname.lastname@temple.edu. It will make it easier for me
to identify you when I receive your email. I will post homework assignments, due dates and exam
dates as well as other information in Blackboard or send it to you via email. Please be sure that you
are enrolled in this Blackboard course. Review and understanding of all of the information posted
in Blackboard is your responsibility. If anything is unclear, please let me know as soon as possible
so as to avoid any misunderstandings regarding course content, assignment due dates, etc.
Classroom Behavior and Expectations:
Enrollment in this course assumes that you will prepare for class, attend class, be on time and be
engaged in the class lectures and discussions. Attendence for every class is required and can earn
you extra credit toward your final grade.
Electronic Devices in the Classroom:
The use of any electronic or computer device during this class may be allow providing that their use
is not abused by students. I usually allow the use of laptops for accessing the e-textbook or taking
notes. These devices may not be on your person, on your clothes, on your desk, or in your work
area during class unless I allow their use. Please store all electronic or communication devices in
book bag, purse, etc. and make sure they are either turned off or on vibrate. If you need to be in
communication with an outside party due to emergent or urgent circumstances, please see me
before class and I will be happy to arrange an exception for you. Everyone is in this class to learn
and it is disrespectful of both my time and that of your classmates, if you are texting, emailing or
otherwise not paying attention in class. This will only hurt your overall performance and grade. I
will provide breaks during the class when you can make phone calls, return text messages, etc. so
please utilized those times for this type of activity.

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Classroom Behavior:
As a class, we will not tolerate class disruptions of any type. I reserve the right to remove any
student from this course if, in my opinion, his or her behavior is disruptive to me or classmates or
the class environment in general. Again, please remember that everyones time is valuable and that
we only have a limited amount of time to cover the material so please be respectful and limit
conversations to what we are discussing in class and not with other students. If I have to stop the
class due to any type of disruption, you will be marked absent and lose any extra credit you might
have earned for that class.
Lecture Recording:
I do not permit audio recording, video recording, photo recording or capture of any kind or media
in the classroom or of me at any time or location. If you require an exception to this policy due to
medical reasons, please see me.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus if circumstances warrant
such change. All changes will be provided to students in writing.

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