Book excerpt: Introduction to Business Math & Personal Finance gives students a brief look into the world of buying and selling merchandise for a business including trade and cash discount, and markup and markdown. It also provides some basic tools for calculating payroll deductions and other required employer payments including FICA and unemployment taxes. The book also covers important personal finance information on topics such as simple and compound interest for loans and deposits, as well as installment payments and retirement accounts. Students learn to use scientific calculators with complex formulas instead of looking up information on tables. It is a true mathematics book using algebraic concepts.