Managing your finances is an important part of everyone's life. Understanding financial management, budgeting, saving, and investing are essential skills that can help you achieve your financial goals and live a better life. Thankfully, being savvy with your savings doesn’t need to be complicated. If you’re looking to learn, these five sites all provide great personal finance resources with succinct information and an array of helpful tools.
Khan Academy is most well-known as a nonprofit educational tool for students looking to learn subjects like math, science, and computing. However, they also have a life skills section that includes Personal Finance and Financial Literacy. If you’re just beginning to practice smart spending and saving, this is a great place to start.
They have multiple free, self-paced courses that include videos and written guides on topics such as 401Ks vs. IRAs, creating a budget, raising your credit score, and more. These courses explain in very simple terms what you need to know to start saving and investing. For parents looking to start educating their children, they have resources detailing the best way to talk to children about money, savings, and the economy.
2. Pigly©
Pigly is another nonprofit that specializes in providing utilities to help you manage your finances, budget, and plan for retirement. Their most prominent resource is their wide range of financial calculators that include budgeting, mortgage payments, credit card debt, retirement planning, and many more.
All the calculators within a certain topic also have a comprehensive guide on the same page. So, before you punch in the age you plan to retire at into their calculator, you can read an extensive guide on saving to ensure that retirement is financially stable. Whatever you’re planning for in your financial future, Pigly has a calculator for that.
3. The Balance™
The Balance is a personal finance website that provides articles, guides, and tools to help individuals manage their finances. While the other sites offer guides and tools, the main reason to visit The Balance is their in-depth, high-quality articles on personal finance topics. These articles cover a wide range of topics, including budgeting, saving, investing, and retirement planning, and are written by financial experts to include detailed information and advice.
The Department of Financial Services is a government agency that connects you with resources and information on many topics including, credit, debt, banking, spending, and more. Their website covers topics like saving for college, managing credit card debt, and planning for retirement.
In addition to knowing you are getting reliable, trustworthy information, you also have the added benefit of information that is specific to New York. For instance, the banking page offers information on New York regulations and a map of all bank-owned ATMs in the State.
5. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a government agency that is focused on making sure consumers are treated fairly by banks, lenders, and financial institutions. To aid in this effort, they have an abundance of resources available for consumers.
These resources include how-to guides for life’s big moments like purchasing a home, answers to frequently asked financial questions, and publications on all manner of topics. Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is also the best place for you to file a complaint or share your feedback on a financial product or service, which can all be done on the site.
Each of these websites offers unique benefits and features that can help you improve your financial literacy and make more sound financial decisions. Take advantage of these tools and resources today to develop your skills and secure your financial future.
