A short description of the most common financial instruments and their role is given. The stress is put on the ideas of the creation of the instrument and details are postponed to more advanced lectures. These lecture notes are prepared for a first year student of Econophysics.

A short description of financial markets and their role in modern society is given. The stress is put on the specifics of the system in Poland, eg. the arrangements of the Warsaw Stock Exchange are described. These lecture notes are prepared for a first year student of Econophysics.