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Money is a weirdly taboo subject, and many of us made it through our entire educational careers without partaking in any serious money management lessons—undoubtedly to our detriment. A lot of us manage to buy houses and earn and save surprisingly large amounts of income without really understanding anything at all about our money. Perhaps that’s one reason the average amount American has only saved a measly $65,000 for retirement, while carrying an average debt of $90,460.
Educating yourself about money matters is essential, but if you’re already struggling with money you certainly don’t want to spend big on financial literacy courses. Luckily we’re also living in a golden age of free (or very cheap) online education. If you apply yourself and devote some time to it, you can learn the fundamentals of personal finance pretty easily—and without laying out too much of your dwindling cash. Here are some of the best free—or inexpensive—financial courses for beginners.
If every time you use your credit cards is like playing an exciting game of “Will It Decline?” and your preferred method of dealing with bills is to stuff them, unopened, into a box labeled “Problems for future me,” you’re going to need to master the fundamentals before you move forward. Luckily, there are some excellent courses available to help you achieve basic financial literacy:
Once you have familiarized yourself with those overarching topics, you can explore some more specific courses:
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People increasingly see retirement—at least the classic concept of enjoying leisure and financial security in your older years—as a myth. The truth is it doesn’t have to be. Another truth is that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how little you’ve saved, there’s almost always time to put together some kind of retirement plan. To make that happen you need to understand how it all works. Purdue University offers a terrific primer with their free course Planning for a Secure Retirement, which will walk you through the basics of planning your retirement.
Another great resource is investment firms, which have a vested interest in inspiring you to invest in your retirement. Vanguard offers a series of free online courses broken down by age group, so no matter where you are in life you can educate yourself and start making a plan instead of playing the lottery with increasing desperation.
If you need a bit more structure, Udemy offers The Only Retirement Guide You’ll Ever Need, which takes a nuts and bolts approach to dealing with every aspect of the financial reality of retiring. The course isn’t free, but it’s just $12, which almost any financial advisor would green light as a good deal.
It sometimes seems like everyone in the universe is investing and day trading and sipping champagne as their huge gains come rolling in. While that’s not entirely true (especially in 2022), it is true that a sober, rational investment strategy can be a great way to build wealth and fund a retirement that goes beyond the basics covered in the courses above. But if you’re a financial newb (or, like me, a financial incompetent), investing seems ludicrously risky.
Some of that perceived risk lies in ignorance: The best way to lose money is to invest in something you don’t understand—which, if you lack a financial education, is literally everything. A few courses can remedy that for you:
Of course, you can’t talk about financial topics these days without mentioning cryptocurrencies. Despite the hype, crypto is probably not a great place for folks new to personal financial knowledge, but that’s certainly never stopped anyone. If you’re thinking that “buying the dip” describes your financial spirit animal, at least understand the fundamentals before you dive in:
Financial literacy is a key component of being a mature adult—and a key component of a life without a lot of the anxiety, stress, and sleepless nights that come with insolvency and debt. These courses will cost you almost nothing except your time, but the rewards could be tremendous.
