Duration of the online course: 10 hours and 40 minutes
5
(3)
Build real-world money skills with this free online course—understand taxes, insurance, mortgages, and investing basics, plus practical exercises and a certificate option.
In this free course, learn about
Auto insurance types: PIP/MedPay, liability, collision, comprehensive; what each covers
Liability coverage: bodily injury vs property damage; limits and split vs single limit policies
Collision vs comprehensive: when each pays (accidents vs theft, weather, vandalism, etc.)
Tax basics: standard deduction, deductions vs credits, and cash income is still taxable
Other taxes: excise vs sales tax, estate vs inheritance tax, gift tax payer responsibilities
Property taxes: assessed value link; personal property tax definition and assessment methods
Mortgage fundamentals: down payments/closing, payment calculation, 15- vs 30-year tradeoffs
Special mortgages: graduated payments, negative amortization, balloon, wraparound, buydowns
Home equity tools: equity calculation, how to increase it, home equity loans vs HELOC
Real estate transaction basics: title insurance and earnest money purpose
Mutual fund mechanics: open/closed-end, active/passive, load/no-load, NAV, expense ratio
Municipal bonds: GO vs revenue vs prerefunded, taxability, pros/cons, tax-equivalent yield
Time value of money: FV/PV of lump sums, annuities, perpetuities; short-selling basics
About the free online course
Strong personal finance skills can change the way you earn, spend, borrow, and invest—and they can reduce stress by replacing guesswork with clear decisions. This free online course in Personal Finance is designed to help you build confident, everyday financial judgment through realistic explanations and practice questions that mirror the choices people face in the real world.
You’ll learn how to evaluate protection decisions like auto insurance, understanding what different coverages actually do and how liability, collision, and comprehensive options affect your risk and your wallet. From there, you’ll move into one of the most misunderstood areas of money: taxes. You’ll gain a practical grasp of how common taxes work, why governments collect them, and how concepts like deductions, credits, payroll taxes, and property-related taxes shape take-home pay and household budgets.
The course also connects personal finance to major life milestones. Buying a home isn’t only about a sticker price—it’s about long-term cash flow and the tradeoffs hidden inside a mortgage. You’ll build intuition for how mortgage payments are calculated, how loan terms change total cost, and how tools like points, buydowns, and home equity products can help—or hurt—depending on your goals and timeline.
On the investing side, you’ll strengthen your foundation with the time value of money, learning how present value and future value shape decisions from saving to comparing opportunities. You’ll also explore core investment vehicles such as mutual funds and municipal bonds, including how fees, pricing, and tax treatment can influence outcomes. And because education is often a family’s biggest financial decision, you’ll learn how financial aid systems work, how eligibility is determined, and how to reduce borrowing by understanding grants, loans, and repayment options.
Whether you’re planning for a purchase, trying to manage debt more effectively, or aiming to make smarter investment choices, this course helps you build a durable framework you can use for years. Complete the lessons and exercises to reinforce what you learn and translate it into action.
Course content
Video class: Types of Auto Insurance11m
Exercise: Which type of insurance is primarily responsible for covering medical expenses for the driver and passengers of a vehicle when they're injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault?
Video class: Bodily Injury Liability Coverage (Auto Insurance)06m
Exercise: What does bodily injury liability coverage in car insurance cover?
Video class: Property Damage Liability Coverage (Auto Insurance)04m
Exercise: What is property damage liability in car insurance policies?
Video class: Split Limit vs Single Limit (Auto Insurance)06m
Video class: Collision Insurance (Auto Insurance)08m
Exercise: What is the main purpose of collision insurance?
Video class: Comprehensive Auto Insurance Coverage05m
Exercise: Which type of insurance covers non-collision damage such as theft or natural disasters?
Video class: The 4 Main Types of Taxes We Pay13m
Exercise: Which type of tax is specifically imposed on specific goods such as gasoline, cigarettes, and alcohol, and is considered a 'hidden' tax because it is not typically itemized on a receipt?
Video class: Why We Pay Taxes09m
Exercise: What is one of the main reasons governments collect taxes from citizens?
Video class: Introduction to Income Tax for Individuals and Families20m
Exercise: What is a common misconception about cash payments and income tax?
Video class: How to Calculate Federal Income Tax13m
Exercise: In determining federal income tax, which of the following is true about the standard deduction?
Video class: FICA tax06m
Exercise: What is the main purpose of the FICA tax?
Video class: Tax Deductions vs. Tax Credits05m
Exercise: What's the main difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit?
Video class: Introduction to the Estate Tax10m
Exercise: What is the primary purpose behind the implementation of the estate tax, often referred to as the 'death tax'?
Video class: Inheritance Tax03m
Exercise: What is the key difference between inheritance tax and estate tax?
Video class: Gift Tax07m
Exercise: Who is responsible for paying the gift tax in the United States?
Video class: Real Estate Property Tax08m
Exercise: What is the relationship between the assessed value of a property and the property taxes owed?
Video class: Personal Property Tax05m
Exercise: What is personal property tax and how is it assessed?
Video class: Sales Tax (what it is and how to calculate it)09m
Exercise: Why is sales tax considered regressive?
Video class: Excise Tax06m
Exercise: What is a key distinction between an excise tax and a sales tax?
Video class: Introduction to Mortgages07m
Exercise: What is typically required upfront when taking out a mortgage to purchase a home?
Video class: How to Calculate a Mortgage Payment05m
Video class: 15-year vs. 30-year Mortgage Comparison14m
Exercise: When considering the choice between a 15-year and a 30-year mortgage, which of the following is a primary benefit of choosing a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year mortgage?
Video class: Graduated Payment Mortgages07m
Video class: Negative Amortization06m
Video class: Balloon Mortgages07m
Exercise: What is a key feature of a balloon mortgage that distinguishes it from other types of mortgages?
Video class: Shared Appreciation Mortgages11m
Video class: Wraparound Mortages08m
Video class: Mortgage Buydowns09m
Exercise: What is a primary benefit of a mortgage buy down for a homebuyer?
Video class: Discount Points (for a Mortgage)09m
Video class: Home Equity Loans10m
Video class: How to Calculate Home Equity09m
Exercise: What changes can increase the home equity for a homeowner?
Video class: Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)08m
Video class: Title Insurance09m
Video class: Earnest Money06m
Exercise: What is the primary purpose of earnest money in a real estate transaction?
Video class: Introduction to Mutual Funds05m
Video class: Characteristics of Mutual Funds12m
Video class: Load vs No-load Mutual Funds07m
Exercise: What is a primary difference between a load mutual fund and a no-load mutual fund?
Video class: Open-end vs Closed-end Mutual Funds09m
Video class: Actively-managed vs Passively-managed Mutual Funds06m
Video class: Expense Ratio of a Mutual Fund05m
Exercise: Which of the following is primarily included in the expense ratio of a mutual fund?
Video class: Net Asset Value of a Mutual Fund07m
Video class: Introduction to Municipal Bonds10m
Video class: Advantages of Investing in Municipal Bonds08m
Exercise: What is one key advantage of investing in municipal bonds compared to corporate bonds?
Video class: Disadvantages of Investing in Municipal Bonds03m
Video class: Taxability of Municipal Bonds04m
Video class: Calculating the Tax Equivalent Yield04m
Exercise: When comparing a tax-exempt municipal bond with a taxable corporate bond, why might the municipal bond be the better investment even if it has a lower stated yield?
Video class: The 3 Main Types of Municipal Bonds05m
Video class: General Obligation Bonds08m
Video class: Revenue Bonds02m
Exercise: What differentiates a revenue bond from a general obligation bond in terms of how the debt is serviced?
Video class: Prerefunded Bonds05m
Video class: Time Value of Money (concept explained)07m
Exercise: What does the time value of money concept primarily refer to?
Video class: Future Value of a Single Amount02m
Exercise: If you invest a single amount of $200 today at an annual interest rate of 4% compounded annually, what will be the future value of this investment in 25 years?
Exercise: What is the future value of a $100 investment after 30 years if it is invested at an annual interest rate of 5%?
Video class: Future Value of an Annuity05m
Exercise: What is the future value of an annuity at 7% interest?
Video class: Present Value of a Single Cash Flow07m
Exercise: What is the present value of $100 received 10 years from now at a 5% interest rate?
Video class: Present Value of an Annuity08m
Exercise: What is the present value of an annuity, and why is it important in financial calculations?
Exercise: Which of the following statements best describes an annuity?
Video class: Present Value of a Perpetuity03m
Exercise: What is the present value of a perpetuity if the annual cash flow is $1,000 and the discount rate is 8%?
Video class: Selling a Stock Short09m
Exercise: What is the process of selling a stock short?
Video class: How to Pay for College if You're Poor08m
Exercise: Which of the following describes a type of financial aid that does not require repayment?
Video class: Introduction to the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)07m
Video class: Financial Aid Eligibility for Colleges in the United States05m
Video class: FAFSA Independent Status05m
Exercise: In which scenario would a student be considered independent for the purposes of filing the FAFSA?
Video class: 3 Ways to File the FAFSA01m
Video class: CSS Financial Aid PROFILE02m
Video class: CSS Financial Aid PROFILE vs. FAFSA06m
Exercise: What is one primary difference between the CSS Profile and the FAFSA form in terms of what financial information they consider?
Video class: The 4 Types of Financial Aid available for College in the U.S.06m
Video class: How Colleges Determine Your Financial Need02m
Video class: Understanding the Cost of Attendance (COA) in the Financial Aid Process06m
Exercise: What is the Cost of Attendance (CoA) when applying to college?
Video class: Understanding your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in Financial Aid07m
Video class: Understanding your Student Aid Report02m
Video class: Understanding your Financial Aid Award Letter (financial aid offer)07m
Exercise: When reviewing a financial aid award letter, which type of financial aid should be prioritized to accept due to not requiring repayment?
Video class: Understanding the Federal Pell Grant03m
Video class: The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)03m
Video class: The Federal TEACH Grant04m
Exercise: What is a requirement for recipients of the Federal TEACH Grant after completing their degree?
Video class: Understanding Federal Work Study (financial aid)04m
Video class: The Types of Student Loans available for College in the U.S.06m
Video class: The Difference between a Grant and a Student Loan03m
Exercise: When reviewing a financial aid package, what is the key difference between a grant and a student loan?
Video class: The Difference between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loans06m
Video class: Understanding Federal Perkins Loans in the U.S. Financial Aid Process02m
Video class: Understanding Direct PLUS Student Loans06m
Exercise: Which of the following statements about Direct PLUS student loans is true?
Video class: Income Based Student Loan Repayment Plans11m
Video class: Student Loan Repayment Plans for Federal Student Loans09m
Video class: Deferment of Federal Student Loans04m
Exercise: Which of the following is a condition under which a borrower may qualify for deferment of federal student loans?
Video class: Student Loan Forbearance03m
Video class: Understanding Student Loan Default05m
Video class: How to Avoid Defaulting on your Student Loans06m
Exercise: Which of the following strategies can help you avoid defaulting on federal student loans when you can't afford the fixed monthly payment?
Video class: How to get your Student Loans Forgiven03m
Video class: Financial Aid Strategy: How to Pay for College without a lot of Debt09m
Video class: Financial Aid for Grad School06m
Exercise: Which of the following is a potential financial aid option specific to graduate students pursuing a teaching career?
Video class: Financial Aid for International Students Attending College in the United States04m
Video class: Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)06m
Video class: Using Section 529 Plans to Save for College05m
Exercise: What is the primary difference between the two types of 529 plans discussed?
Video class: Section 529 Plans vs. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts04m
This free course includes:
10 hours and 40 minutes of online video course
Digital certificate of course completion (Free)
Exercises to train your knowledge
100% free, from content to certificate
Ready to get started?Download the app and get started today.
