Your Quick, Handy Guide to Financial Literacy

Essential Topics to Master

Are you financially literate? Test your familiarity with the following essential personal finance topics to improve your potential for future success with your money!

Income

The first step in mastering your money: maximizing what you bring in and how much of it you keep

Developing multiple sources of income through your work, investments, side hustles, and more provides the raw material that you can convert into financial security.

1. Creating Income Streams

Keeping track of expected income and expenses, even imperfectly, helps to stay focused and on track key financial goals.

2. Budgeting

It is crucial to stay on top of paying your taxes appropriately without overpaying and diminishing your income unnecessarily.

3. Taxes

Saving

The turning point in financial success: how much of your money you keep and put toward your goals

Understanding banking basics like how different types of accounts work and what exactly an interest rate means can help you make more informed decisions with your savings.

4. Banking Basics

Everyone should have an emergency fund. But do you know how much to put in it, or where you should keep yours?

5. Emergency Funds

You don't need to know all the math behind it, but a basic understanding of the concept of compound interest is a strong indicator of future wealth.

6. Compound Interest

A massive income and brilliant investing skill are both useless if you are not able to steadily save a significant portion of the money you make.

7. Savings Rates

Debt

Understanding the sometimes-controversial, always-present force of liabilities and debt in personal finance 

There are many factors to the total cost of debt. Always know what you're getting into, and what you should be working to get out of.

8. Interest and Fees

There is much debate over whether there is such a thing as "good debt," but it is beyond dispute that some debts are more dangerous and harmful than others.

9. Good Debt/Bad Debt

Credit cards can slightly help, or significantly harm one's finances. Take time to research and decide whether they're a good fit for your unique situation.

10. Credit Cards

Investing

Where good habits turn into wealth. Putting your money to work earning you more money and future possibilites.

IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerages, and more. Which type(s) of account is right for your needs and goals?

11. Types of Investment Account

Familiarity with basic asset types, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and commodities is a great place to start your investing journey.

12. Asset Types

Every investor should have a basic grasp of concepts like diversification, compound growth, risk, dollar-cost-averaging, and indexing.

13. Investing Strategy Basics

Swipe up for a complete and thorough guide to financial literacy and the basics of mastering your money!