Your Financial Future: A Guide for Beginners

- Description
- Curriculum
- FAQ
- Reviews
Preparing for your financial future doesn’t have to be so complicated!
This manageable and down-to-earth personal finance course empowers you to plan for your future needs and goals. Without all the big words, sales pitches, and angry old men telling you what to do (we don’t care how many lattes you drink!), this course puts you in the driver’s seat of your own financial journey. We take a “micro-learning” approach. Through bite-size videos, illustrative graphics, and practical exercises, you will gain the financial literacy necessary to navigate the worlds of saving, investing, and retirement planning.
We’ll talk about:
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The purpose of saving and investing.
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How to plan for retirement.
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The different kinds of investing and retirement accounts.
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What resources you can use to help you analyze and readjust your goals as needed.
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How to be a self-guided, lifelong, learner in the world of money.
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And more!
We’re also going to cover the practical stuff that many financial literacy programs skip but that you might feel embarrassed to ask about – how to actually do things like:
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buy a stock.
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enroll in a 401k.
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use online calculators or spreadsheets to estimate how your savings or investments might grow.
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find a savings account that will help maximize your contributions.
We’ll even learn how Artificial Intelligence can help you organize your finances!
I hope you will join us!
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1Welcome to Your Financial Future!Video lesson
Nice to meet you!
Welcome to Your Financial Future: A Guide for Beginners.
This course is brought to you by Everybody Money, a financial educational resource center meant for people who feel lost, confused, or embarrassed about money!
Preparing for your financial future doesn't have to be so complicated! In this course, you'll engage with bite-size videos, illustrative graphics, and practical exercises. You will gain the confidence to navigate the worlds of saving, investing, and retirement planning.
The course is divided into four sections, comprised of short lectures and other micro-learning experiences to build a vocabulary and toolkit that empowers you to make your own financial decisions.We have created a resource that you will use throughout the course: A spreadsheet including multiple useful calculators to help you put what you learn into practice. There will be multiple videos and activities that will show you how to use it. It is linked below.
Important: Nothing provided in this course should be taken as personal financial advice. Any platforms, services, strategies, banks, firms, or investments are referenced for purely educational reasons.
Notice any glitches or errors? Have questions about the content?
Reach out at [email protected] ! We cannot provide personal financial advice, but we are happy to explain any course concepts as we are able.
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2Part 1 IntroductionText lesson
Welcome to Part 1: Saving!
The future can be a huge source of anxiety - especially when it comes to money. In Parts 1 and 2, we are going to learn about the two primary financial tools you should have in your arsenal in order to prepare for the future: Saving and investing. Both saving and investing are methods by which you use the money you currently have and optimize it for a more secure and prosperous future. For Part 1, we will focus on Saving.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of completing Part 1, participants will be able to:
Describe the purpose of saving.
Interpret the features of a savings account.
Use calculator tools to determine the future value of a savings account.
Word Bank
Here are some keywords we will encounter in Part 1.
Saving
Interest
Principal
HYSA
CD
APR
Compounding
APY (Annual Percentage Yield)
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3Introduction to SavingVideo lesson
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4Compounding InterestVideo lesson
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5ReviewText lesson
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6Part 1 QuizQuiz
Instructions: You can take this quiz as many times as you need to! We recommend retaking the quiz until you get a perfect score - before moving on to the next part of the course.
You can use any resources you would like. The online calculators and the course spreadsheet, not to mention Generative AI, can all be useful tools. However, your learning will not be as substantive if you simply copy and paste the questions into a generative AI tool.
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7Part 2 IntroductionText lesson
Another powerful tool that can help you plan for future needs and goals is investing. To some, investing might sound like something that could be very exciting, but feels overwhelming and confusing. To others, it might sound like “pie in the sky” and risky. In Part 2 we will learn about investing - specifically investing in things like stocks and bonds - as a useful tool for growing your wealth and approaches you can take to make investing easier and less risky if it’s a tool you choose to use.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of completing Part 2, participants will be able to:
Define investing.
Explain the differences between stocks, bonds, and funds.
Identify the rate of return on an investment.
Word Bank
Here are some keywords we will encounter in Part 2.
Investing.
Rate of Return.
Annualized Return.
Stocks.
Bonds.
Funds.
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8Introduction to InvestingVideo lesson
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9Stocks and BondsVideo lesson
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10FundsVideo lesson
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11ReviewText lesson
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12Part 2 QuizQuiz
Instructions: You can take this quiz as many times as you need to! We recommend retaking the quiz until you get a perfect score - before moving on to the next part of the course.
You can use any resources you would like. The online calculators and the course spreadsheet, not to mention Generative AI, can all be useful tools. However, your learning will not be as substantive if you simply copy and paste the questions into a generative AI tool.
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13Part 3 IntroductionText lesson
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14RetirementVideo lesson
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15How Much Do I Need?Video lesson
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16Rules of ThumbVideo lesson
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17You Can Do It!Video lesson
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18ReviewText lesson
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19Part 3 QuizQuiz
Instructions: You can take this quiz as many times as you need to! We recommend retaking the quiz until you get a perfect score - before moving on to the next part of the course.
You can use any resources you would like. The online calculators and the course spreadsheet, not to mention Generative AI, can all be useful tools. However, your learning will not be as substantive if you simply copy and paste the questions into a generative AI tool.
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20Outtake on FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)Video lesson
This segment was cut for time, but is still important. It addresses the concept of early retirement, as well as the realities of financial abuse.

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