· Bill’s Need to Know: Personal Finance or Tennis?
During the Christmas break of his final year at Ohio State, Bill Bledsoe plans to put together his résumé in order to seek full-time employment as a medical technician during the spring semester. To help Bill prepare for the job interview process, his older brother has arranged for him to meet with a friend, Cathy Smith, who has worked as a medical technician since her graduation from Ohio State 2 years earlier. Cathy gives him numerous pointers on résumé preparation, the interview process, and possible job opportunities.
After answering Bill’s many questions, Cathy asks Bill to update her on Ohio State. As they discuss courses, Cathy indicates that of all the electives she took, the personal financial planning course was most useful. Bill says that, although he had considered personal financial planning for his last elective, he’s currently leaning toward a beginning tennis course. He feels that the course will be fun because some of his friends are taking it. He points out that he doesn’t expect to get rich and already knows how to balance his checkbook. Cathy tells him that personal financial planning involves much more than balancing a checkbook and that the course is highly relevant regardless of income level. She strongly believes that the personal financial planning course will benefit Bill more than beginning tennis—a course that she also took while at Ohio State.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Describe to Bill the goals and rewards of the personal financial planning process.
2. Explain to Bill what is meant by financial planning and why it is important regardless of income.
3. Describe the financial planning environment to Bill. Explain the role of the consumer and the impact of economic conditions on financial planning.
4. What arguments would you present to convince Bill that the personal financial planning course would benefit him more than beginning tennis?
Case Analysis 1
Finding:
You’re final semester at Ohio State is coming up soon and you have electives or credits to be met. There are plenty of different courses that can help you in the future, however, you’re considering a beginner’s tennis class. As you start to develop a resume for a potential career opportunity, an elective that your friend, Cathy, brought to your attention can be of value to your future: Personal Finance class. Sure, tennis will be fun, you get to play with your friends and it’s also a fairly easy credit, but learning how to plan finances is essential to one’s future and will pay off in the long run as opposed to learning a backhand drop shot.
Analysis:
If you take the beginner’s tennis class, you’re financial well-being may be at risk.
A financial planning class is much more than a class and it is a course that will not only help you, but the family that you might want to have someday in the future. The course will give you knowledge about how to invest your money, when to start saving for retirement, which (believe it or not) will come fast, and how to improve your credit score. All of these cannot be taught in a beginner’s tennis course and what is taught in the tennis course won’t have a lasting impact on your future.
Everyone has a financial plan. Everyone wants to be successful and “rich.” We all have goals we want to achieve in life. This course will give you a different perspective on the importance of financial goals, which are essential to a financial plan. Each financial goal you have in mind can certainly be met by learning about the financial planning process. The first step of the process is to define your financial goal. Goals can be long term (about 6 or more years) such as buying a house after you get married and starting your child’s or children’s college fund. Other goals you have may be short term like buying scrubs for the career you might have, plan a vacation after you graduate or even buying a new phone. All of these goals can be met with the right financial plan which can be vital to the future as you begin your career in medical assisting.
Upon registering for courses at William Paterson University in my first year, I learned that the Financial Well Being class is required in the University Core Curriculum. Ohio State University might not require undergraduates to take the course, but it will help you realize that this course will only help you. It may not be something you want to learn, but to learn how to manage your money and plan your finances should be taken advantage of, given the opportunity. Maybe taking the course can actually be something you enjoy or take serious interest in because of the emphasis on your financial future.
I read that after thinking of taking the financial well-being course, you said that you don’t plan on being rich and you’re already familiar with balancing a checkbook. The point of this course, however, is to give you an overview of the financial planning process. The course is not meant to help you get rich or teach how to be successful; it teaches you the value of a financial plan that will help you have a better standard of living. The course also doesn’t teach you how to balance a checkbook; it teaches you how to plan your finances for when life throws you a curveball or (in tennis terms) puts you down a break in the fifth set.
Tennis can also be taught recreationally. Investing in lessons privately would also be a better option. Rather than having a beginner’s tennis course, a financial well-being would be more worthwhile. If you are paying tuition, which, I’m sure isn’t cheap, wouldn’t you want to earn the credits in a course that would challenge you and benefit your future more?
Recommendation:
As a financial planning class may be more of a challenge, it can only assist you in the future as you start your career, settle down and have a family. My advice is to earn the credits on the financial planning course because they will be credits well deserved. If you are interested in playing tennis or want to play for fun then I also recommend you ask your friends who have taken the beginner’s tennis course if they can teach you what they were taught. You can even take private lessons if you want to be the next John McEnroe or if you just want to play for exercise. I hope you take into consideration the value that the financial planning course can provide you