Coastal Carolina University business professors will lead a series of five weekly workshops on various business topics, including personal finance, creating a portfolio, mutual funds, tax issues and managing expenditures and credit, starting on Wednesday, March 1.

The workshop series, titled Financial Independence, Research & Success Techniques (FIRST), will be held in Room 318 of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration. Each workshop will begin at 7 p.m. and will last until 8:30 p.m. The admission fee for each workshop is $20. Community members can sign up at www.coastal.edu/outreach or by contacting Yoav Wachsman at (843) 349-2683 or yoav@coastal.edu for more information. The workshops are free for Coastal Carolina students, faculty and staff.

• March 1: “Managing Personal Finances” – John Mortimer, assistant professor of accounting, will discuss techniques to assist individuals in making the most of their money.

• March 21: “Creating a Winning Portfolio” – Marvin Keene, assistant professor of finance, will discuss what stocks and bonds are and how to design an ideal investment portfolio.

• March 22: “Investing in Mutual Funds” – Gerry Boyles, professor of finance, will discuss how mutual funds work and how to select an appropriate fund.

• March 29: “Current Tax Issues” – Howard Smith, Executive-in-Residence to the Wall College of Business Administration, will discuss income and property taxes and how to minimize tax liability.

• April 5: “Managing Purchases & Credit” – Yoav Wachsman, assistant professor of economics, will discuss how to buy a house, a car and to manage one’s credit.