It was a letter that Ralph W. Ketner received from a recent Catawba College graduate that made him think that young adults need lessons in personal finance. Now, the 90-year-old Food Lion founder will be co-teaching a class at Catawba during the spring semester with Professor Al Carter, a classroom veteran of 42 years, to try to share those lessons.
Ketner recalled his dismay upon receiving the letter from the Catawba College alumnus. "He wrote that he was making $35,000 a year, but was about to file for bankruptcy. He was living in one city and commuting to another and that was when I realized that somehow he had missed the information about how to meet financial obligations, save, and even have a successful life. The choices he was making made it difficult for him to make ends meet."
Carter |
The one-hour class in personal finance, Management 2000, meets on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Registration for new students in the Day program is scheduled Monday, January 10, while registration for returning Day students is slated Tuesday, January 11. Spring semester classes in the Day program begin on Tuesday, January 11.
"We will not use a textbook as such," Carter explained, "but we will use real life documents such as insurance statements, lease agreements and 401K statements. Our goal is for students who take this course to be able to operate knowledgably in today’s society and to handle adult, real-life decisions."
Carter said the class would also tap resources in the community such as local bank representatives, real estate agents and insurance agents. Students will find out their individual credit scores, put together a resume, and "even come to realize the potential liability of letting someone use their car."
Other topics for the class include how to balance a bank statement, knowing how to determine the true cost of late payments on credit cards, how to calculate the cost of points on car insurance, the benefits of term versus whole life insurance, and how to prepare a budget.
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