DSST Principles of Finance Study Guide: What's Inside

DSST Principles of Finance study guide shoppers usually want to know one thing first: what do you actually get for $5. On the $5 study guide, you can see that this is a 38-page printable PDF built around the official content areas and exam weights, not a random set of notes.

It gives you one chapter per content area, starting with the heaviest topics, plus 183 key terms with examples, 46 practice questions with every answer explained, flagged exam traps, a 2-page cram sheet, and 2-, 4-, and 8-week study plans. You also get 10 free sample questions on the guide page before you buy, so you can judge the style first.

What’s inside the DSST Principles of Finance study guide

The printable guide is a 38-page PDF you download once and keep. It is made for fast review, not for long video lessons or lots of screen time. If you like to print, highlight, and study from paper, that matters.

The table above shows the parts, but the big idea is simple: each piece solves a different study problem. The chapters help you cover the official content areas in the right order. The 183 key terms give you short definitions with an example, which is useful in finance because many terms sound close but test differently. The 46 practice questions help you check if you can apply the ideas, not just recognize words. Since every answer is explained, you can see why a choice is right and why the others miss.

The guide also flags common exam traps. That matters on a test where small wording changes can flip the best answer. The 2-page cram sheet is for the night before or the morning of the exam, when you need a short review instead of a full reread. And if you are not ready to buy yet, the 10 free sample questions on the guide page let you test the writing style before you spend anything.

How the guide matches the exam weights

This exam is not flat. Some content areas count much more than others, so a good guide should not treat every topic the same. That is one of the better parts of this guide: it uses one chapter per official content area and puts the heaviest topics first.

Start with the table above. Financial Statements and Planning is 20%, and Time Value of Money is 20%. Together, those two areas make up 40% of the exam. That is why they belong at the front of your study time. After that come Capital Budgeting at 12%, Risk and Return at 12%, and Cost of Capital at 11%. Working Capital Management is 10%. The lighter areas are Valuation and Characteristics of Stocks and Bonds at 8% and International Financial Management at 7%.

That order helps in two ways. First, if your test date is close, you can put more energy where more points are likely to come from. Second, if you have a longer timeline, you still avoid a common mistake: spending too much time on a smaller topic because it feels easier or more familiar.

This is where the DSST Principles of Finance study guide is strongest. It does not just list topics. It tells you what deserves more of your time because that is how the exam is built.

Why the terms, examples, and questions matter

Finance exams often test your grasp of terms in context, not just your memory of a definition. That is why the 183 key terms each come with an example. A plain definition may tell you what a term means, but an example shows how it behaves in a decision, a calculation, or a comparison. For topics like time value of money, capital budgeting, or risk and return, that extra step can make review faster.

The 46 practice questions do a different job. They show you if you can use the idea under test pressure. Because every answer is explained, you are not left with a score and no clue. You can trace the logic, see where you guessed, and spot patterns in your mistakes. That is much more useful than checking an answer key with no notes.

The guide also flags common exam traps. On a finance exam, traps often come from mixing up similar terms, missing one condition in the question, or rushing past a detail that changes the answer. Seeing those traps called out in advance can help you slow down on the items most likely to punish fast reading.

If you want extra practice before or after the guide, use the free practice test. It has 25 original questions that follow the official exam outline, and each explanation gives you one more check on what you really know.

Who the $5 guide fits best

The guide alone makes the most sense for a certain kind of student. It fits you well if you already have some background in business or finance, if you learn well from a concise printable PDF, or if your test date is fairly close and you want a focused review instead of a longer course.

It also fits if you like to study by weight. Since the guide follows the official content areas and starts with the biggest ones, you can be efficient fast. The 2-, 4-, and 8-week plans help here. If you have only a short runway, use the 2-week plan to cover the heavy areas first. If you have more time, the longer plans spread the same priorities over a calmer schedule.

The 2-page cram sheet is another reason the guide works well for strong self-studiers. It gives you a last-pass review tool without forcing you back through all 38 pages. For some students, that is enough structure.

The DSST Principles of Finance study guide may be all you need if you want a low-cost review before paying the exam fee. A DSST exam costs $100, plus any fee the test center charges, so some students want to keep prep simple. Just remember that prep products do not include exam fees, and college credit is always up to your school. More than 1,900 colleges accept DSST, but each college sets its own credit policy.

When to add the $19 course or choose a plan

Add the $19 prep course if you need more teaching, not just more review. The course gives you 11 chapters, 146 lessons, and 93 quizzes, with a quiz after every subchapter and lifetime access. That is a better fit if you are new to finance, if you want concepts broken into smaller steps, or if reading a PDF alone does not stick.

A simple way to think about it is price versus support. The guide is $5. The course is $19. Together, that is $24. For many students, that pair is enough: a concise printable review plus more lesson-by-lesson teaching online.

A plan makes more sense when this exam is not your only target. The DSST Monthly plan is $29 a month and includes all 8 DSST prep courses and all 38 DSST study guides. The DSST Semester plan is $69 for 4 months and includes the same DSST materials. If you are studying for several exams, the math can get better fast because plans cover a whole set, not just one subject. Plans cover prep only, though. You still pay exam fees separately.

If you want to compare the broader DSST options first, start on the DSST prep hub page. And if you know you want the single-subject lesson format for this exam, go straight to the $19 prep course.

Frequently Asked Questions about DSST Finance Prep

Final Thoughts on DSST Finance Prep

If you want a focused, low-cost review, start with the $5 study guide. It gives you the weighted chapters, terms with examples, explained questions, traps, cram sheet, and timed plans in one printable PDF. If you read that and know you need more teaching, add the $19 prep course for the lessons and quizzes. The best next step is simple: try the 10 sample questions on the guide page, then decide if the guide alone fits you or if you want the course too.