This page has reference links to help you discover or hone your financial literacy. No one is born knowing how to manage their financial life, and whole industries try to make it overly complex and confusing (perhaps so you will hire them?). Before you dive in on your own or hire someone else, take a little time to learn the vocabulary and concepts. You don't have to become an expert on all topics, nor learn it all in a week. Simply nibble bite-size pieces of learning and your confidence and success will come.

In a modern world that endlessly promotes consumerism and debt, getting a handle on anything to do with money comes down to Spend Less than you Make; Invest the rest wisely.

Start here - some thoughts on Managing Money and Wealth Building: Money Sanity PDF

A small spreadsheet: Money Math.xlsx, (need a free alternative to MS Word and Excel, or GoogleDocs? Consider LibreOffice)

Safety First - in a technology world: Annual Security Chores PDF


Interested in other resources? Links to explore in no particular order (online references tend to break over time - search for similar):


Basic education for free:
Online classes for personal fi and financial literacy:
khanacademy.org personal finance
khanacademy.org financial literacy

Flowcharts to explore:
https://u.cubeupload.com/demonlesondledon/FinFlowChartv43.jpg
(from https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/ecn2hk/fire_flow_chart_version_43/ )
partially based on https://i.imgur.com/lSoUQr2.png

Library Books on Money, Life Balance, Real Estate, Your Own Biz, and Estate Planning.
Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins *** (if you read only one, this would be the choice)
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin ***
Broke Millennial - Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry
Clever Girl Finance by Bola Sokunbi
I will teach you to be Rich by Ramit Sethi (the journal workbook is also solid) ***
The Index Card by Helaine Olen
How to Invest in Real Estate - The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started by Dorkin and Turner
The Small Business Bible by Strauss
Get It Together - Organize Your Records So Your Family Won't Have To by Cullin from the NOLO series ***
8 Ways to Avoid Probate by Randolph from the NOLO series
*** = some favorites - we're a huge fan of our local libraries. If a book is not in their stacks, nor an inter-library loan available, ask them to add a copy to their collection. Or pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore.

A few blogs and sites for budgeting, debt, FIRE, real estate and investing (no need to buy anything to read the blogs):
http://mrmoneymustache.com
http://iwillteachyoutoberich.com
http://gocurrycracker.com
http://frugalwoods.com
http://biggerpockets.com
How do I get started investing? https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started ***
Reddit personal finance wiki ***
*** = some favorites

Podcasts for personal finance and retirement:
Big Picture Retirement ***
Optimal Daily Finance ***
ChooseFI (start at episode 100) ***
Bigger Pockets
Stacking Benjamins ***
Radical Personal Finance
Journey to Launch
The Money with Katie Show.

With podcasts, consider starting from the earliest available episodes and work chronologically forward, as many of these build on prior episodes in knowledge and evolve over time. Each podcast has its own voice and vibe - after two or 3 episodes, you'll find what speaks to you.
*** = some favorites

Books and resources for kids:
Saving for children (529, UTMA, IRA, HYSA/CD/I-bond, etc.): https://reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/104tjyn/_/j36u2dm/?context=1 .
https://www.investopedia.com/best-finance-books-for-children-5095583
Everything You Need to Know About Personal Finance in 1000 Words https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23279094-everything-you-need-to-know-about-personal-finance-in-1000-words
Older kids, New Adult or New to Being on Your Own: https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf

Math out how to plan your future:
Run investment scenarios. https://ficalc.app/
Compare ETF performance and details. https://www.tipranks.com/compare-etfs/
Another ETF comparison tool. https://totalrealreturns.com
Calculate future compounding, ROI. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
Build a free composite networth picture with this Personal Dashboard toolset: https://www.empower.com/.
Paid tools like YNAB https://www.ynab.com/ and Monarch Money https://www.monarchmoney.com/ are popular in personal finance forums.
Math isn't hard: https://www.calculator.net/

Minimize EDU borrowing with saving for college - many will recommend 529s and Coverdells - certainly planning way ahead helps a lot. A print resource is the most recent edition of Paying for College - Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College. One overlooked strategy is to actually work for the university as an employee, as many offer free credit hours. It might take twice as long to get a degree, but zero student debt does not suck. Likewise, on-campus work-study jobs/RA work takes some of the sting out of college costs. Or an off-campus job while a student.
Many funding sources go unused every year, as outlined by this podcast: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/tag/jocelyn-paonita/
Learn how to use I-bonds as an inflation hedge and complementary tool for 529s or Coverdells https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=368946
and this blog post https://www.moneycrashers.com/reduce-avoid-student-loan-debt/
What are the rules for converting leftover 529s to RothIRAs? https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/roll-over-529-plan-funds-to-a-roth-ira/

A reference wiki about Personal Finance: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics/
Real conversations about money: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/
FI: https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/
Think like an investor: https://www.bogleheads.org/
I-bonds and other saving tools: https://treasurydirect.gov/
Emergency fund CDs: https://www.ally.com/bank/cd-ladder/
Managing debt: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-get-out-debt
HSA thoughts: Heathcare Insurance HDHPs that qualify for Health Savings Accounts are opportunities. Some reads for background:
— https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/091615/how-use-your-hsa-retirement.asp
— https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/health/high-or-low-deductible-health-insurance-plan
— https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/wealth-management/hsas-and-your-retirement
— https://www.moneycrashers.com/hsa-health-savings-account-retirement-investing/
— Why go HSA? https://www.fidelity.com/go/hsa/why-hsa

Banks and Financial institutions to explore: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/amp/

For those who learn from video, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T71ibcZAX3I .
More videos: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Video:Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy
Bob, the world's worst market timer: https://youtu.be/pFgPNVytlwA
Time in the market, not timing the market: https://www.putnam.com/literature/pdf/II508-ec7166a52bb89b4621f3d2525199b64b.pdf
Rob Berger Index funds video: https://www.youtube.com/live/Op2Vo0rBsHE?feature=share


End of life. We all go there. Helping plan for your loved ones or yourself need not be put off - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-picture-retirement/id1191872952?i=1000386710476 .



Avoid debt slavery, spend less than you take home, invest the difference wisely. The power of time compounding with interest and ROI does the heavy lifting.