Personal Finance 101: Essential Skills for Financial Success

Course Overview

This 3-hour text-based course provides adults with the essential knowledge and skills needed for personal finance success. The course is structured into 10 lessons, each designed to be completed in approximately 20 minutes.

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Welcome to Personal Finance 101

Core Lessons

1. Budgeting That Actually Works
2. Building Your Financial Safety Net
3. Debt Management - From Burden to Freedom
4. Saving for Your Goals - Beyond the Emergency Fund
5. Investing Fundamentals - Growing Your Wealth
6. Understanding Taxes - Keeping More of What You Earn
7. Understanding Credit - Building and Using It Wisely
8. Insurance Essentials - Protecting What Matters

Capstone

• Lesson 10: Putting It All Together - Your Personal Financial Plan

Supplementary Materials

Checklists

• Budgeting Checklist
• Emergency Fund Checklist
• Debt Management Checklist
• Saving for Goals Checklist
• Investing Fundamentals Checklist
• Understanding Taxes Checklist
• Understanding Credit Checklist
• Insurance Essentials Checklist

Cheat Sheets

• Budgeting Cheat Sheet
• Emergency Fund Cheat Sheet
• Debt Management Cheat Sheet
• Saving for Goals Cheat Sheet
• Investing Fundamentals Cheat Sheet
• Understanding Taxes Cheat Sheet
• Understanding Credit Cheat Sheet
• Insurance Essentials Cheat Sheet

Templates

• Budgeting Template
• Emergency Fund Template
• Debt Management Template
• Saving for Goals Template
• Investing Fundamentals Template
• Understanding Taxes Template
• Understanding Credit Template
• Insurance Essentials Template

Course Structure

Each lesson follows a consistent format: - Clear learning objectives - Engaging content with practical examples - Real-life application scenarios - Interactive elements (quizzes, exercises) - Suggested graphics and visual aids - Supplementary materials (checklists, cheat sheets, templates)

Learning Approach

This course emphasizes practical skills over theory, focusing on the 80/20 of what really matters in personal finance. The content is designed to be accessible to complete beginners while providing actionable steps that can be implemented immediately.

Feedback

A survey link will be provided at the bottom of each lesson for learner feedback.