scenerio 1

Personally, I have used financial statements to make personal decisions. For example, my wife and I are working toward some personal financial goals to pay off a couple home purchases (HVAC system and a fridge) by leveraging 0% financing and payment terms, while also paying off the debt in a timely fashion so it isn't lingering in our budget. Using the financial statements and amortization calculators, we have analyzed the down payment and additional monthly payments required to complete our payments within the 0% term to avoid high interest rates in the long-run.

When I think about finance, I think about the management of money and the study of money movement. It also brings to mind personal finance as well as business-centric finance. I think about financial planning for individuals and businesses.

I am excited about all things finance related. I enjoy managing my personal finances and learning about ways to enhance my financial planning capabilities.

Scenerio 2

Yes of course. Each year during tax season my wife and I collect all of our bank statements, IRAs, TSP, kids college accounts, investment documents, and W-2s. I appreciate tax season as it gives us a snapshot of what we've earned that year and how much of our income we save vs spend. We use that data to further invest and re-budget our expenses. This last year we ended up opening 3 different CDs diversifying our savings account and gaining a larger return, they are all doing pretty well.

• What terms or concepts come to mind when you think about finance?

When I think about finance, a few different ideas come to mind. First is financing, such as home and auto loans, interest rates, credit scores, etc. Another is personal finance such as investing, stocks and bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts like a 401K, TSP, or IRA. And lastly, budgets, financial planning, and risk management.

• What concerns or excites you about the course?

I look forward to learning more about finance. My wife and I invest around 15% of our income for retirement, closer to 20% if I include what we put in our children's college funds. I am very bad at stock markets and day trading, completely clueless actually. I know a lot of people who manage their finances that way, however, it is not something I have been able to get into. I would rather pay someone else to do it for me.

Scenario 3

A current issue that I have been facing with a group of people is at work, the issue first started when I noticed that there were some workers slacking heavy on their work load and we had to end up doing their work. I did not say anything but noticed this right away, shortly I would be speaking with some of my co-workers and they would bring up the fact that they would notice the same thing they had to do more work because they had to pick up other peoples slack. In reality it was about two workers slacking and making it obvious they did not want to work, we brought these concerns up with our management and even showed them evidence of what we were talking about but management just kept saying okay we will look into it. It came to the point to where those workers are doing their job halfway and end up causing major confusion for anyone that picks up what they were working on, when we try to speak to the workers about it they do not seem to care, when we speak to management they just smile and say okay it will get addressed but it has been like this for about a year. The resolution we are looking for is not for them to be terminated or anything like that, we just want people to be held accountable for their actions if they worked something half way have them finish it instead of passing it to the next person that tries to piece everything together to see what has been done.

Scenario 4

Our main obstacle is pinpointing the exact cause behind the high bounce rate, which could be due to various factors like confusing design, slow loading times, or irrelevant content. Our goal is to reduce the bounce rate and increase engagement by optimizing design and content.

To solve this, we need to conduct user research, usability testing, and performance analysis. We'll collaborate with design, development, and content teams to implement necessary changes effectively. This solution prioritizes user experience and data-driven insights, aiming to enhance satisfaction, retention, and business growth. I am excited for this class and cannot wait to see what it has in store for us.

For scenario 1 & 2

• How are your experiences similar to or different than those of your peers?
• What advice, resources, or encouragement would you offer to your peers to help them succeed in this course?

For scenario 3 & 4

• What ideas or resources can you share to help your peers craft their solutions?
• What are some obstacles to your peers' potential solutions?