Other Elementary Finance: Loans, Credit Cards & More

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on finding a book that covers basic finance topics such as loans, credit cards, annuities, and fundamental accounting concepts like balance sheets. Several book recommendations are provided, though they may not fully address personal finance needs. The conversation highlights the distinction between business finance and personal finance, with an emphasis on the latter, particularly for someone based in South Africa. It is noted that while some resources may be USA-centric, the underlying principles of finance are generally applicable. A specific title, "An Introduction to the Mathematics of Money: Saving and Investing," is mentioned as potentially comprehensive, covering various essential topics like interest, loans, and investments, although it requires a basic understanding of calculus. The discussion also touches on the classification of business finance under financial accounting.
qspeechc
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Hello everyone.

I'm looking for a book that covers very basic finance stuff, e.g. loans, credit cards, annuities, etc., something on basic accounting like balance sheet would be nice too.

Cheers
 
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qspeechc said:
Hello everyone.

I'm looking for a book that covers very basic finance stuff, e.g. loans, credit cards, annuities, etc., something on basic accounting like balance sheet would be nice too.

Cheers
Not sure it covers all the topics you mention but here are some options (no pun intended)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007178831X/?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071633227/?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465018491/?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764147595/?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470481307/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I have an MBA in Finance, but i do not want to recommend the books that we used because they probably will be a overkill for your purpose.
 
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Thanks. That looks like business finance, which is half of what I'm looking for. I'd also like stuff on personal finance, like taking out loans, repayments, how credit cards work, etc.

Also, is this stuff specific to the USA, or is it applicable everywhere, because I'm a South African.

Cheers.
 
qspeechc said:
Thanks. That looks like business finance, which is half of what I'm looking for. I'd also like stuff on personal finance, like taking out loans, repayments, how credit cards work, etc.

Also, is this stuff specific to the USA, or is it applicable everywhere, because I'm a South African.

Cheers.
Yes, as I said, it probably does not cover all your topics. Also, yes, it is applicable to USA only (although the principles should apply nonetheless).
 
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In case anyone else reads this, I found "An Introduction to the Mathematics of Money: Saving and Investing" by Lovelock, Mendel and Wright. I've just found it, so I haven't gone through it yet, but the chapters are:

Simple Interest
Compound Interest
Inflation and Taxes
Annuities
Loans and Risks
Amortization
Credit Cards
Bonds
Stocks and Stock Markets
Stock Market Indexes, Pricing and Risk
Options
& Appendixes on Maths and Stats.

Looks like most answers are included, and prereqs are a year of calculus.

Also, for business finance, it looks like it falls under the heading of Financial Acounting, or something like that, if anyone's curious.
 
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