Table of Contents

Section 1: Planning Your Personal Finances
Ch. 1 Personal Finance Basics and the Time Value of Money
Ch. 1 Appendix: The Time Value of Money
Ch. 2 Financial Aspects of Career Planning
Ch. 2 Appendix: Résumés, Cover Letters, and Interviews
Ch. 3 Money Management Strategy: Financial Statements and Budgeting
Ch. 4 Planning Your Tax Strategy

Section 2: Managing Your Personal Finances
Ch. 5 Financial Services: Savings Plans and Payment Accounts
Ch. 6 Introduction to Consumer Credit
Ch. 7 Choosing a Source of Credit: The Costs of Credit Alternatives

Section 3: Making Your Purchasing Decisions
Ch. 8 Consumer Purchasing Strategies and Legal Protection
Ch. 9 The Housing Decision: Factors and Finances

Section 4: Insuring Your Resources
Ch. 10 Property and Motor Vehicle Insurance
Ch. 11 Health, Disability, and Long-Term Care Insurance
Ch. 12 Life Insurance

Section 5: Investing Your Financial Resources
Ch. 13 Investing Fundamentals
Ch. 14 Investing in Stocks
Ch. 15 Investing in Bonds
Ch. 16 Investing in Mutual Funds
Ch. 17 Investing in Real Estate and Other Investment Alternatives

Section 6: Controlling Your Financial Future
Ch. 18 Starting Early: Retirement Planning
Ch. 19 Estate Planning

About the Author

Dr. Jack Kapoor is a Professor of Business and Economics in the Business and Services Division. Dr. Kapoor has taught Business and Economics at College of DuPage since 1969. He received his B.A. and M.S. from San Francisco State College and his Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University. Professor Kapoor was recently awarded the Business and Services Division's Outstanding Professor Award for 1999-2000. Dr. Kapoor is known internationally as a co-author of several textbooks including Business: A Practical Approach (Rand McNally), Business (Houghton Mifflin), and Focus on Personal Finance (Richard D. Irwin/McGraw-Hill).

Les Dlabay teaches in the Department of Economics and Business at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois. Over the past 25 years, he has taught more than 30 different courses in high school, community college, university, adult education, and teacher preparation programs. Dr. Dlabay has developed a wide variety of textbook materials, student activity guides, instructor manuals, testing programs, audio-visual materials, and software packages in the areas of Personal Finance, Consumer Economics, and International Business. Dr. Dlabay has served as a consultant to corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies. He has presented more than 140 workshops and seminars in over 20 states to encourage teachers to actively involve students in the learning process with video presentations, newsletters, interviews, and Internet research activities.

Professor of business at Dallas County Community Colleges, believes that these two words can literally change people's lives. Whether you want to be rich or just manage the money you have, the ability to analyze financial decisions and gather financial information are skills that can always be improved. In addition to writing several textbooks, Dr. Hughes has taught personal finance, introduction to business, business math, small business management, small business finance, and accounting since 1972. He also served as a content consultant for two popular national television series, It's Strictly Business and Dollars & Sense: Personal Finance for the 21st Century, and is the lead author for a business math project utilizing computer-assisted instruction funded by the ALEKS Corporation. He received his BBA from Southern Nazarene University and his MBA and EdD from the University of North Texas. His hobbies include writing, investing, collecting French antiques, art, and travel.