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Course format
Topic 03 · Savings
Unit 2 · Topic 03 · Savings

Financial Literacy – Savings

Simple vs. compound interest, the CPI and inflation, and annuity formulas for planning how money grows over time.

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ORBITAL · TOPIC 03SAVINGS12 VIDEOS · 44M0

Lessons

6 lessons · each with a video, a worked example and practice
  1. 3:14 Lesson 1: What interest actually is.Before any formula, four words: principal, rate, time, interest. Once you name them, every calculation in this topic becomes a recipe.
  2. 3:07 Lesson 2: Simple interest, the warmup formula.Multiply principal by rate by time. That's it. Simple interest grows in a straight line — no compounding, no surprises.
  3. 3:47 Lesson 3: Compound interest, and where it leads.Interest earning interest. Run the same formula at four different compounding frequencies and watch the values converge — toward continuous compounding, the limit case.
  4. 3:50 Lesson 4: The rate you really earn.The advertised rate isn't what you get. APY adjusts for compounding frequency. Real return adjusts for inflation. Two flavors of the same insight.
  5. 3:44 Lesson 5: Lump sum vs. annuity.One deposit or many. Both grow with compound interest, but the formulas look different because of how the deposits stack up over time.
  6. 4:00 Lesson 6: Build a savings plan.Three goals, three formulas, three time horizons. Emergency fund, mid-term goals, retirement — each one a savings problem with the math you've already learned.

Then

the rest of the week
Discussion DQ 1: Discussion Walkthrough, posting rhythm, and what the DQ is really asking. Discussion DQ 2: Discussion Walkthrough, posting rhythm, and what the DQ is really asking. 6 questions Review Six worked questions to practice before ALEKS. Self-check Mastery Check 4 quick questions - 2 multiple choice, 2 calculations. Perfect score earns one substantive participation post.
Unit 2 This topic is assessed on Exam 2, together with Topic 4. See what is on it

What you'll learn

80 pts 310 pts in Unit 2 4 objectives

What you'll learn

  1. Use simple and compound interest formulas to analyze financial issues.
  2. Explore the relationship between the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation.
  3. Use the lump sum and annuity formulas to explore methods of financial savings.
  4. Analyze systems of investments to help develop financial literacy skills.

Interactive tools

Playground Compound Interest Lab Drag the principal, rate, and time. Watch six curves, see the APY ranking, and find out how much compounding earned you over plain simple interest. Playground Retirement Planner Stream of monthly deposits, decades of compounding. Watch the contribution band stay thin while the interest band balloons — then compare two start ages side by side. Course tool Financial Formulas Calculator Pick one of the seven ALEKS dictionary formulas, pick which variable is missing, fill in the rest. Includes a downloadable Excel workbook.

Tools & Resources

Library Topic 3 resource library Curated extras across all 6 lessons. 3 items available so far. Study aid Glossary Every vocab term across the 6 lessons in one study sheet. 30 terms so far. Study aid Cheat sheet Key formulas, common mistakes, and quick-reference factors. Printable for the test.
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