Thanks for joining us in the 2022 spring program. Stay tuned for future editions.
Welcome to our new Personal Finance Seminar Series for GW Students!
GWSB’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center has created a new seminar series for GW students, focused on some of the most important personal financial decisions you will have to make early in your career. The sessions will be fun and informative, and the food is on us.
The series consists of five seminars, each focused on a particular topic. Four of those seminars will be in person, on GW’s Foggy Bottom campus, and one will be online. Each will be offered on Fridays. The seminars will be taught by internationally recognized GW University Professor Annamaria Lusardi.
No prerequisites or experience are required, and it is 100% free for GW students thanks to the support of the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council.
Join us! Just complete the following form and we will send you the participation details. We hope to see you soon for food, finance, and fun!
Registration
The five topics that will be covered are as follows:
Seminar 1
April 1 - Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Take care of your personal finances
This session will cover:
• The importance of setting objectives and spending time each week on personal finance matters
• Expense and income statements and budgeting as a tool to make decisions
• The financial implications of taxes and major expenses
• The ABCs of personal finance, from the power of interest compounding, to inflation, to risk diversification.
Seminar 2
April 8 - Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Manage your personal finance GPA: The FICO score
This session will cover:
• What is the FICO score and why it is so important
• How to maximize your FICO score
• Managing credit card debt
• Managing student loans
Seminar 3
April 15 - Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Put yourself on a path to financial security
This session will cover:
• A primer on saving, including the power of interest compounding and how to take advantage of time
• Saving as a protection against unexpected expenses: The importance of a buffer stocks of savings
• Saving for the medium or long term, which includes how to use a finance calculator
• Effective strategies to save
Seminar 4
April 22 - Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Increase your financial acumen: Smart investing
This session will cover:
• A primer on investing, including a description of the main financial instruments where to invest
• The stock market and how to diversify risk
• The relationship between return and risk
• Passive versus active management: The power of index funds and why fees matter
• Crypto currencies and fintech
Seminar 5
Online (April 29)
Make the most of your employer’s benefits
This session will cover:
• A primer on defined contribution pension plans
• Contributing to your 401(k) and investing your contributions
• Life-cycle mutual funds
• Taking advantage of your employer’s match
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) versus Roth IRAs
