Personal Finance

15 units · 150 lessons · Beginner · Free

Practical personal finance: money psychology, banking, credit, spending, debt, investing, taxes, real estate, and building wealth over a lifetime.

What the course covers

1. Unit 1 Money Mindset and Psychology

   How behavior, not math, drives most financial outcomes — and how to think clearly about money.

   1. Money is mostly behavior
   2. Defining 'rich' for yourself
   3. Time is your most valuable asset
   4. Greed, fear, and emotion
   5. Lifestyle inflation
   6. The comparison trap
   7. Money and happiness
   8. Risk, luck, and humility
   9. Long-term thinking
   10. Building financial habits
   Key terms

   • Loss Aversion
   • Margin (Finance)
   • Savings Rate

2. Unit 2 Banking and Cash Flow

   Banking infrastructure for the rest of your financial life: accounts, automation, fees, and emergency funds.

   1. Why your bank matters
   2. Checking accounts
   3. High-yield savings
   4. Avoiding bank fees
   5. The multi-account system
   6. Automating your finances
   7. Direct deposit setup
   8. Building an emergency fund
   9. Tracking cash flow
   10. Putting the banking system together
   Key terms

   • Fixed Cost
   • Liquidity
   • Savings Rate

3. Unit 3 Credit and Credit Cards

   Credit scores, credit cards, rewards, and how to use credit as a tool instead of a trap.

   1. How credit scores work
   2. Building credit from scratch
   3. Choosing a credit card
   4. Paying off your balance
   5. Credit utilization
   6. Maximizing rewards safely
   7. Credit reports and freezes
   8. Identity theft and fraud
   9. Negotiating with credit card companies
   10. Using credit as a tool

4. Unit 4 Conscious Spending

   A spending system that funds your goals while letting you spend guilt-free on what you actually love.

   1. Why traditional budgets fail
   2. The conscious spending plan
   3. Right-sizing fixed costs
   4. Spending on what you love
   5. Negotiating bills
   6. Lifestyle creep prevention
   7. Big wins over small wins
   8. Salary negotiation
   9. The role of cash
   10. Running the system
   Key terms

   • Fixed Cost
   • Savings Rate

5. Unit 5 Debt Management

   Understanding good vs bad debt, payoff strategies, and how to deal with student loans, mortgages, and credit cards.

   1. Good debt vs bad debt
   2. Understanding interest
   3. Avalanche vs snowball
   4. Tackling credit card debt
   5. Student loans
   6. Mortgages
   7. Auto loans
   8. Personal loans and BNPL
   9. Negotiating with creditors
   10. When debt makes sense

6. Unit 6 Emergency Fund and Insurance

   Protecting what you have: emergency funds, health, life, disability, auto, home, and umbrella insurance.

   1. Why protection comes before optimization
   2. Sizing the emergency fund
   3. Health insurance basics
   4. Disability insurance
   5. Life insurance
   6. Auto insurance
   7. Homeowners and renters insurance
   8. Umbrella insurance
   9. Insurance you probably don't need
   10. Reviewing your coverage

7. Unit 7 Introduction to Investing

   How investing actually works: stocks, bonds, compounding, risk, and what to do as a beginner.

   1. Why invest at all
   2. Stocks: ownership in companies
   3. Bonds: lending money
   4. Compound growth
   5. Inflation as the silent enemy
   6. Risk and return
   7. Dollar-cost averaging
   8. Active vs passive investing
   9. Where to open accounts
   10. Starting with $100
   Key terms

   • Bond
   • Coupon
   • Dividend
   • Inflation

8. Unit 8 Index Funds and Asset Allocation

   Index funds, asset allocation, the three-fund portfolio, rebalancing, and choosing what to own.

   1. What an index fund is
   2. Why index funds beat most active funds
   3. Total stock market funds
   4. Bond index funds
   5. International diversification
   6. Asset allocation principles
   7. The three-fund portfolio
   8. Rebalancing
   9. What NOT to invest in
   10. Designing your portfolio
   Key terms

   • Capital Gains Tax
   • Emerging Market
   • Market Capitalization

9. Unit 9 Retirement Accounts

   401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, and how to prioritize tax-advantaged accounts.

   1. Why retirement accounts matter
   2. 401(k) basics
   3. Traditional vs Roth
   4. IRAs
   5. Backdoor Roth
   6. HSAs as stealth retirement
   7. Account prioritization
   8. Self-employed retirement
   9. Rollovers and consolidation
   10. Building the retirement engine

10. Unit 10 Stock Market Realities

    Realistic expectations: why timing fails, why fees matter, and how to survive bear markets.

    1. Markets are mostly random short-term
    2. Market timing fails
    3. Bubbles and crashes
    4. The behavior gap
    5. Why fees matter so much
    6. Tax-efficient investing
    7. Bonds and interest rates
    8. Stay invested through downturns
    9. Survivorship bias
    10. Realistic expectations
    Key terms

    • Anchoring
    • Capital Gain
    • Coupon
    • Hindsight Bias
    • Leverage
    • Random Walk (Finance)

11. Unit 11 Building Wealth Over Time

    Long-term wealth-building: savings rate, compounding math, the 4% rule, FIRE, and what financial independence actually looks like.

    1. Savings rate is the key variable
    2. Compound interest math
    3. The 4% rule
    4. Financial independence
    5. Coast FI and Barista FI
    6. Income vs expenses
    7. Career and earning
    8. The wealth-building checklist
    9. Boring beats exciting
    10. The long game
    Key terms

    • Future Value
    • Leverage
    • Savings Rate

12. Unit 12 Taxes

    Understanding the tax system: brackets, deductions, capital gains, tax-loss harvesting, and when to hire help.

    1. How tax brackets actually work
    2. Standard vs itemized deductions
    3. Pre-tax vs Roth contributions
    4. Capital gains taxes
    5. Tax-loss harvesting
    6. Asset location
    7. Tax credits vs deductions
    8. Self-employment and side income
    9. Common tax mistakes
    10. Software vs CPA
    Key terms

    • Marginal Tax Rate

13. Unit 13 Real Estate

    Renting vs buying, mortgages, the true cost of ownership, and when real estate makes sense.

    1. Renting vs buying
    2. The true cost of homeownership
    3. How much house can you afford
    4. Mortgage types
    5. 15 vs 30-year mortgages
    6. Down payment strategy
    7. Refinancing
    8. Investment properties
    9. REITs as alternative
    10. When real estate is wrong
    Key terms

    • Liquidity
    • Opportunity Cost
    • Transaction Cost

14. Unit 14 Big Life Decisions

    Marriage, kids, college, career changes, inheritances, and estate planning — money decisions around big life events.

    1. Money in relationships
    2. Combining finances
    3. Kids and family finances
    4. College savings
    5. Education ROI
    6. Career changes
    7. Inheritances and windfalls
    8. Divorce and money
    9. Estate planning basics
    10. Money and identity
    Key terms

    • Opportunity Cost

15. Unit 15 Your Financial Plan

    Bringing it all together: building your dashboard, annual reviews, and the lifelong discipline of staying the course.

    1. The financial dashboard
    2. Annual financial review
    3. Adjusting through life stages
    4. When to hire a planner
    5. Robo-advisors
    6. Common pitfalls to avoid
    7. Patience as a strategy
    8. Teaching others
    9. Final principles
    10. Continuing education
    Key terms

    • Savings Rate

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