Education: Building Financial Wealth and Freedom

Financial education is the basis of creating financial security and building wealth. The goal of these resources is to provide basic financial literacy resources to a broad audience with the goal of helping people feel confident managing their own finances.

These resources are based on the following philosophy: 

  • simplicity 
  • transparency
  • low-fees
  • always focusing on the best interest of the individual

Topic 1: Basics

  • What is money?
  • Household cash flow (i.e. Budget)
  • Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth
  • Credit Report/Credit Score
  • Dreaming Big (Goal Setting)

Topic 2: Achieving Financial Security

A recipe for financial security

Topic 3: Banking

  • Banks and Credit Unions
  • Checking and Savings Accounts
  • Checks, debit cards
  • Fees
  • Accessing banking: online, ATM, in-person
  • FDIC/NCUA insurance

Topic 4: Loans

  1. How a loan works
  2. Interest rate and APR
  3. Loan term
  4. Total cost of a loan
  5. Importance of credit score
  6. Secured loans (mortgage, car)
  7. Unsecured loans (credit cards, personal loans)
  8. Payday loans
  9. Student loans
  10. Debt management / getting out of debt

Topic 5: Insurance

  1. Health Insurance
  2. Life Insurance
  3. Renter’s Insurance
  4. Homeowners Insurance
  5. Car Insurance
  6. Disability Insurance
  7. Umbrella Insurance
  8. Asset protection provided by different accounts

Topic 6: Investing

  1. Difference between Saving and Investing
  2. The magical power of compound interest
  3. Inflation
  4. Volatility, Return,  and Risk Tolerance (“Risky” and “Safe” investments)
  5. Stock Market
  6. Bond Market
  7. Index Funds
  8. Why Fees really matter
  9. Special investing accounts (retirement, college, etc.)
  10. Brokerages: Where do I go to invest?
  11. Portfolio and Asset Allocation
  12. The 30-second summary

Topic 7: Education (placeholder)

Topic 8: Taxes

  1. The What and Why of taxes
  2. Different types of taxes
  3. Filing your tax return
  4. Minimizing taxes (legally)

Topic 9: Real Estate (placeholder)

  1. Buying a house
  2. Investing in Real Estate

Topic 10: Bankruptcy

  1. What does bankruptcy mean?
  2. What happens during bankruptcy and how does that impact me?
  3. Chapter 7: Liquidation
  4. Chapter 11: Reorganization
  5. Chapter 13: Chapter 11 for Individuals
  6. Student Loans
  7. Impact of Bankruptcy
  8. Rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy

Topic 11: Identity Protection

  1. Protecting your identity offline
  2. Protecting your credit
  3. Protecting your identity online
  4. Handling identity theft
  5. Red flags