Financial literacy is the ability to understand budgeting, investing, and personal financial management. It allows you to understand financial concepts, manage debt, and more. Banking, saving, credit, and debt are all important pillars that support the financial decisions we make in our everyday lives. A lack of financial literacy can lead to long-term debt burdens and pitfalls. Eventually, this can lead to a poor credit history or even bankruptcy. Increasing your financial literacy allows you to be more resilient during unpredictable times. It allows you to make more informed financial decisions that can impact your life for the better. It is a crucial life skill that increases your financial capability.
Striving to achieve financial literacy will help you to make well-informed financial decisions. It also teaches you how to track spending, pay off debt, and create easy-to-follow budgets. Educating yourself on these topics allows you to become self-sufficient when it comes to money. It also allows you to manage any financial problems that come your way. By understanding how to budget and how money works, you can set expectations and hold yourself accountable for your finances. It allows you to set yourself up for financial success.
Interactive Games
- The Uber Game – This interactive game allows you to discover whether or not you can survive on a job in the “gig economy.” You will be given a series of bills that need to be paid, and you will have to accept gig jobs in order to save up and pay your bills.
- Time for Payback – Payback is a game that allows you to pick your careers and majors based on the jobs you may find and how much your student loans might be.
- Money Management – This fun online game allows you to cover in-depth topics on avoiding impulse purchases and more.
- Claim Your Future – Claim Your Future is a game that encourages you to distinguish between your wants and your needs. It allows you to witness the benefits of saving and the impact debt can have on your life.
- Invest Quest – This game teaches you to better understand how to make good investments.
Worksheets and lesson plans
- Activity for Budgeting 101 – This lesson plan and worksheet allow students to easily identify their wants and needs.
- What are You Trying to Decide? – This worksheet teaches you the consequences and actions of your financial decisions, from going out to dinner to buying an engagement ring, and the best course of action.
- Comparing Rental Options – Comparing rental options allows you to effectively determine the costs of renting an apartment.
- Personal Credit Report – This worksheet walks you through what a personal credit report looks like and how to read one.
Apps
- Mint – Mint lets you create budgets and stay on top of your finances. It also sends you tips to maximize your money every day.
- PocketGuard – This app allows you to easily track your spending each month and tells you every time you have gone over your budget.
- Simple – Simple is an app that replaces your bank account with theirs. It allows you to view your bank account and your budget on the same app.
- Spend Tracker – Spending Tracker is one of the simplest apps that allows you to track your spending costs.
Podcasts
- Money for The Rest of Us – This series of podcasts teaches you how money works and how to invest it.
- So Money Podcast – This podcast covers financial freedom, managing expenses, and so much more.
- The College Investor Podcasts And Shows – Here you can learn more about personal finance and get out of student debt.
- The Fairer Cents Podcast – Fairer Cents is a podcast that talks about different financial difficulties for women, people of color, and other marginalized groups.
Books
- How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance – This book discusses all the basics, such as budgeting, investing, and tax.
- I Will Teach You to Be Rich – This book covers topics on credit cards, investing, home and jewelry insurance, and banking.
Videos
- What is Money – This video takes you through the basics of what makes money valuable and why it is important to society.
- Paying for College- Student Loans – This video talks about the basics of student loans.
- How Much Should I Spend – Discover ways to save money, avoid stress, and live modestly.
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