Everyone can agree that personal finance can be a challenging topic to tackle, no matter your financial status. But facing it head-on is the best way to make progress. Whether you have trouble saving, aren’t sure how to properly invest in the stock market, or are preparing to welcome a new child, a personal finance refresh may be in order. Hiring a personal financial counselor or other professional is not cheap. But you can learn many finance concepts all on your own with the help of some free resources.
In the following article, we will discuss ten of the best free online personal finance courses you can start today to help you get a better grip on your finances. If you’re ready to learn about the finance topics you need for success, read on.
Why Should I Take a Free Online Personal Finance Course?
No matter your current financial circumstances, there is undoubtedly something you can take away from a free online personal finance course. For example:
- If you have a lot of expendable income and are looking for smart things to do with your money, focus on an investment course.
- If you are on a tight budget and looking for ways to save, you could try a course that shows you how to use different budgeting apps.
- If you want children in the near future, try a class about family financial planning.
With these top ten best free online personal finance courses, there’s something for everyone!
Udemy – Personal Finance 101
Udemy is a MOOC (massive open online course) network that hosts a variety of both free and paid courses. This Udemy free course is called “Personal Finance 101: Everything You Need to Know,” and has 3 hours of on-demand video content at no cost.
In the course, the instructor will cover topics like building great credit, managing debt (including student loans), investing wisely, filing tax returns, and more. They also discuss understanding credit cards, buying a house, and purchasing a car.
Each topic is broken down into easy-to-understand animated videos. By the end of the course, you will be able to navigate your finances effortlessly and feel much more in control of your money.
Udemy – Personal Finance: Eliminate Debt & Accumulate Wealth
Also from Udemy is a course titled “Personal Finance, Eliminate Debt & Accumulate Wealth.” While this free course is from the same site, it is focused more specifically on paying down your debts, so you can continue to save.
By the end of the course, you will understand how to get out of debt the right way—not by sneaking around the law or stressing yourself out unnecessarily. In addition, concepts like compound interest and investing are covered in the course, helping you understand how to make the most of your money.
BYU – Personal Finance For Self-Reliance
Brigham Young University offers a variety of free online courses on its website, but this one focuses specifically on personal finance for self-reliance. While this topic is particularly relevant for college students who are just starting to learn how to live independently, it can be helpful for anyone.
In this course, you will learn how to eliminate debt, protect yourself against financial obstacles, and prepare for your financial future. Additionally, the class will introduce you to self-reliance groups, which are groups that help keep each other accountable.
selfLearn – Personal Finance 101
selfLearn is a self-published YouTube channel that offers an extensive course on introductory personal finance. The course is nearly an hour and a half long and can be saved and repeated as many times as you wish.
During the course, you will learn to think beyond your weekly paycheck, including concepts like home ownership, insurance, credit cards, eliminating or minimizing debt, and more. By the end of the course, you will know all about the fundamentals and basic principles of personal finance.
Skillshare – My Financial Mountain
Skillshare is an online course hosting website that prompts users to enter into a membership to access all of the course materials. By paying a flat monthly membership fee, you can explore and take as many courses as you’d like, crossing many different disciplines.
However, they do offer a seven-day free trial for new site members. This trial is more than enough time to finish this financial literacy class by Julio Lara called “My Financial Mountain: Understanding Your Path to a Solid Financial Foundation.” By the end of the course, you will understand how to tackle your own financial mountain, which includes climbing over hurdles like credit card or student loan debt.
Alison – Managing Your Personal Finance Debts
This course from Alison is called “Introduction to Managing Your Personal Finance Debts,” and that’s precisely what you will learn how to do by the end of the class. Financial burdens like student debt and credit card debt can pile up incredibly quickly. But learning how to minimize and pay off your debt while remaining mentally stable can make a huge difference in your financial life.
Coursera – Personal and Family Financial Planning
Coursera is another trending MOOC platform that offers a huge variety of free personal finance courses. One of the better ones is “Personal and Family Financial Planning,” a course specifically designed to prepare you and your finances for the expansion of your family.
This course is for you, whether expanding means having kids, having your elderly parents move in with you, or other family changes. And it can help you learn to set realistic personal finance goals. It is offered by the University of Florida and takes around 15 hours to complete.
Skillshare – Investing 101
As previously mentioned, Skillshare is an online learning platform that offers new users a seven-day free trial to all of their courses. This “Investing 101” class taught by BrainyMoney is the perfect introduction to investing in the stock market, stock brokers, index funds, bonds, and more! If you are sick of storing your extra money in the bank and want to earn even more money by investing smartly while understanding the inherent risks, this course would be perfect for you.
Coursera – Creating a Budget
Another great personal finance course available for free on Coursera is “Creating A Budget With Microsoft Excel,” which is offered by the Coursera Project Network.
During this intermediate course (which takes around an hour and 30 minutes to complete), you will learn how to create a budget template with Microsoft Excel. And you will also learn how to showcase these skills in an interview. By the end of the course, you will understand all your budget categories and how to expand your budget to the rest of the fiscal year.
Khan Academy – Personal Finance
Khan Academy is a free online learning platform that has historically been aimed primarily at students in grades K-12. However, they have also recently expanded to some topics for adult learners. Khan Academy has a wide variety of short personal finance courses available for your learning pleasure. Some of the topics include retirement accounts, buying a home versus renting, personal bankruptcy, debt repayment, and more.
