Hey,<p>I was wondering if some people with experience in finance could recommend some (preferably free) resources for a beginner looking to get into finance.<p>I'm looking to learn about things like options, swaps, futures, interest rate derivatives, currency swaps, etc (basically just listed a bunch of buzz-words I know are related to the field).<p>I have been trying Wikipedia but it's pretty tough to get into, I really need to start with something "dumbed down" for the layman like me.<p>Thanks.
This may be of interest to you. I think this was recently on HN but don't have the link.<p>DIY Masters in Financial Engineering -
<a href="http://blog.hiremebecauseimsmart.com/post/2860511335/design-your-own-mfe" rel="nofollow">http://blog.hiremebecauseimsmart.com/post/2860511335/design-...</a><p>Edit: Here it is - <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2130508" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2130508</a>
try this book: I loved it. Just the right balance of deep stuff with great explanation. Later you can go onto something more esoteric.<p>Principles of Finance with Excel: Includes CD
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Finance-Excel-Simon-Benninga/dp/0195301501/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296852548&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Finance-Excel-Simon-Benning...</a>