Unit 1: Introduction and Global Economic Developments

• Course Introduction - Introductory presentation of current domestic and global economic developments.
• Presentation of the most recent data on the Greek and World Economy.
• Presentation of the time evolution of the most essential variables of the Greek Economy.

Unit 2: Personal Finance

• What is Personal Finance? What are its main components and why has it now become an essential skill for the 21^st century?
• Introduction to Financial Planning.
• How does financial planning contribute to the achievement of our personal, financial and other goals?
• The big picture: The goal of every human being is Wellbeing.
• The components of Wellbeing: Physical Wellbeing, Social Wellbeing, Financial Wellbeing.

Unit 3: Essential financial concepts in brief

• GDP, GDP per Capita, Financial Health Index, Unemployment, Public Debt, Consumer Price Index, Interest Rates, Exchange Rates etc.
• The concepts we should all know, in a globalized competitive environment, to protect and maintain our family's income and quality of life.

Unit 4: Aiming for the big picture

• 7 financial goals we can set and achieve!
• What is financial stress and how does it affect our health and wellbeing?
• How do we deal with and reduce financial stress?
• A comprehensive guide aimed at our wellbeing. Financial needs, financial planning and life cycle theory.

Unit 5: Basic concepts of the modern household

• Planning, Saving, Spending, Investing, Donating.
• The 5 essential steps to become financially independent.

Unit 6: Understanding investments in simple terms and in a nutshell

• Basic investment concepts and characteristics of alternative investments.
• What are stocks, Treasury bills, bonds and mutual funds?
• What are stock market and other investment bubbles?
• Are there safe investments and safe investment strategies?
• A detailed guide to protecting your investments.

Unit 7: Financial Literacy and Retirement Income Literacy

• A financial guide to understanding the risks and opportunities that a complex financial system presents us throughout our lives.
• How can we protect ourselves from a complex financial system characterized by over-indebtedness, asymmetric information, financial instability and consecutive crises.
• Financial Literacy

• The definition and main components of financial literacy.
• The benefits of financial literacy and the effects of financial ignorance.

• How prepared are we to face a sudden financial shock?
• What is Financial Fragility?
• What is Financial Resilience?
• What is Retirement Income Literacy?

Unit 8: Behavioral Finance: How emotions, stereotypes and ignorance lead us to wrong investment decisions

• Behavioral biases and common investment mistakes.

• Herding
• Myopia
• Greed
• Fear
• Arrogance
• Strategies for dealing with impulsive investing behaviors.
• Minimize behavioral biases and invest based on human needs.
• What is the Maslowian Portfolio Theory?

Unit 9: Digital Literacy: The digital age is here!

• 4^th Industrial Revolution, digital assets, digital wallet, Fintech, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin etc.
• How is the digital age shaping the future?
• What are the effects on our lives and finances?

Unit 10: How will the global economic and financial reality be shaped in 2030?

• How will the Global Economy be shaped in 2030?
• Which countries are expected to lead the way and which to regress.
• What are the "mega-threats" for the planet and the Global Economy?

The complexity of the financial system and the existing global and domestic over-indebtedness create fewer and fewer opportunities for the new generation. Therefore, proper money management constitutes an essential skill for the 21^st century.

Personal Finance is the dominant term in modern international literature, which covers the various day-to-day aspects of the proper management of our money, with particular emphasis on saving and investing.

It encapsulates all financial knowledge and actions concerning both the individual and the family. In the context of a holistic financial approach, Personal Finance includes the creation of income, smart spending, limiting overspending, creating and faithfully implementing a budget, our relationship with the banks, our protection through insurance, the amount and management of mortgage loans, investments, retirement planning, proper tax planning and in general the optimal management of our property.

The keywords of this course are:

• Personal Finance
• Personal Wellbeing and Financial Wellbeing
• Financial Literacy and Retirement Income Literacy
• Financial Goals
• Financial Stress
• Stock Market and other Investment Bubbles
• Financial Shocks
• Financial Fragility
• Financial Health
• Financial Resilience
• Financial Independence
• Financial Freedom
• 4^th Industrial Revolution

Greek:

• Νικόλαος Δ. Φίλιππας, Χρηματοοικονομικός Αλφαβητισμός: Θεωρία και Πράξη, Εκδόσεις Πεδίο, 2023 (υπό έκδοση). [Nikolaos D. Philippas, Financial Literacy: Theory and Practice, Pedio Publications, 2023 (under publication).]
• Yuval Noah Harari, 21 μαθήματα για τον 21ο αιώνα, Εκδόσεις Αλεξάνδρεια, 2018. [Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Alexandria Publishing, 2018.]

English:

• 2009, 2012, and 2015 Reports by FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
• 2015 National Financial Capability Survey by FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
• Abel, Bernanke, and Croushore, (Macroeconomics –2014), page 270.
• Alesina and Summers, “Central Bank Independence and Macroeconomic Performance: Some Comparative Evidence,” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 25 (1993): 151-162.
• Almenberg, J. and Gerdes, C., “Exponential Growth Bias and Financial Literacy.” Applied Economic Letters, 2011.
• Almenberg, J. and Save-Soderbergh, J., “Financial literacy and retirement Planning in Sweden.” Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 2011.
• Atkinson, A., and Messy, F., 2012, Measuring financial literacy: Results of the OECD/International Network on Financial Education (INFE) pilot study. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance, and Private Pensions, No. 15, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9csfs90fr4-en
• Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street - (2007), page 185.
• Carlson, Kim, Lusardi, and Camerer, “Bankruptcy Rates among NFL Players with Short-Lived Income Spikes”, 2015.
• Damodaran, A., "Historical returns: Stocks, T.Bonds & T.Bills with premiums." NYU Stern, 2016.
• Federal Reserve of Saint Louis Economic Data (FRED).
• Frederic S. Mishkin, The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets – (2003), page 388.
• Frederic S. Mishkin, “The Real Interest Rate: An Empirical Investigation,” Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 15 (1981): 151-200: 151-200.
• G20, 2012, Leader’s Declaration – Los Cabos, Mexico, 19 June 2012, www.g20.utoronto.ca/2012/2012-0619-loscabos.pdf
• Huberman, G and Jiang, W., “Offering versus Choice in 401(k) Plans: Equity Exposure and Number of Funds.” Journal of Finance, 2006.
• International Monetary Fund, Money growth rates and consumer price inflation from International Financial Statistics, February 2003.
• Lusardi, A. et al. “Visual Tools and Narratives: New Ways to Improve Financial Literacy.” National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014.
• Lusardi, A. and Tufano, P., “Debt Literacy, Financial Experiences, and Overindebtedness.” Harvard Business Review, 2009.
• Roubini Nouriel, “MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them”, Little, Brown and Company, 2022.
• Sabelhaus, J. et al., "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2007 to 2010: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances." Federal Reserve Bulletin, 2012.
• Tamborini, Christopher R., Chang Hwan Kim, and Arthur Sakamoto. 2015. “Education and Lifetime Earnings in the United States.” Demography 52: 1383–1407.
• Thaler, R. and Benartzi, S., “Save More Tomorrow: Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Employee Saving.” Journal of Political Economy, 2004.
• Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D., “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk.” Econometrica, 1979.
• Wheelan, Charles J., “Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science.” New York: Norton, 2002.