The Best $20 (or Less) I Spent on Financial Education & How It’s Still Paying Off
Written by
Cynthia Measom
Edited by
Gary Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
There’s no rule that says that you have to pay a premium for financial education. Plenty of financial education books, classes, videos, templates and other tools are available for a fraction of the cost of formal education and can just as effectively improve your financial literacy in many ways.
To prove that point, here are several firsthand accounts of people who spent $20 or less on financial education and how it’s still paying off for them today.
Debt-Free Mom’s Pay Period Budget Template
Sarah Spencer, director of operations for Content Cucumber, said she purchased the Pay Period Budget Template from Debt-Free Mom about two years ago, and it’s still paying off for her day.
“My partner and I have tried several budgeting methods over the years but often ended up frustrated with them because they didn’t account for actual cash flow in real-time, and it was hard to truly plan for the future with them,” Spencer said. “I got [the template] for $5 during [Debt-Free Mom’s] annual sale and have recommended it to several people,” she said.
Spencer added that through the video course and budget template, “I learned a lot about the value of budgeting by pay period instead of by month, which better lines up with my weekly pay schedule and my partner’s every-other-week pay schedule.”
She continued, “It also taught me the importance of a budget buffer, which Carly (of Debt-Free Mom) describes as money that will have a job; you just don’t know what that job is yet. Having that bit of extra money for things that pop up each pay period has significantly reduced my financial stress.”
The Complete Personal Finance Course on Udemy
Carl Broadbent, digital marketing expert, professional affiliate marketer and founder of Carl Broadbent, said that financial education has long been of significant interest to him. Early on, he said he realized how important it is to learn personal finance principles, which can help successfully manage business ventures and income streams.
“One resource that I found particularly helpful was ‘The Complete Personal Finance Course’ on Udemy,” said Broadbent. “A few months ago, I saw it was on sale for only $19.99, as many courses usually are on Udemy, so I decided to invest in it. One thing I found most impressive about the course was how comprehensive it was in teaching various ways to save money. It broke down expenses into different categories like housing, transportation, food and entertainment, and provided multiple tactics for reducing costs in each area.”
He offered as examples the 13 strategies he learned for lowering his car and transportation expenses beyond just driving less, and 10 effective ways to potentially downsize housing expenses through renting a room, refinancing a mortgage or negotiating utility bills.
“Approaching expenditures in this analytical, category-by-category style opened my eyes to a lot of small savings opportunities I hadn’t considered previously. Implementing even a few of the ideas provided by the course ultimately added up to significant extra money flowing into my investment accounts on a monthly basis, thanks to compound growth,” he explained. “Perhaps most importantly, the personal finance course helped me understand the power of compound interest.”
And how does this still affect his money moves today?
“Seeing real-life examples of how small, consistent investments can dramatically increase in value through the years gave me the motivation to stay disciplined. These days, I still diligently contribute set portions of my income each pay period and watch my net worth increase at an accelerating pace.”
A Book Almost a Century Old
Puneet Gogia, data and business analyst and founder of Excel Champs, said that a book written in 1926 helped improve his financial literacy.
“One book that comes to mind is ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ by George Clason,” Gogia said. “I found a used copy for only $10, and it was such a worthwhile investment. The stories in that book really drove home the importance of paying yourself first through consistent savings. Even small amounts over time really can add up, as the parables show. I still make sure to automatically transfer a portion of each paycheck into my savings account before spending on anything else. Following that rule has helped me build a nice nest egg.”
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
Another resource Gogia credits for his financial education is Dave Ramsey‘s Financial Peace University program.
“I was able to take the full nine-week course online for only $15 through my local library’s digital collection,” he explained. “Learning about [Ramsey’s] ‘baby steps’ for getting out of debt and building wealth step-by-step was extremely helpful. I especially remember his lessons on only using cash and avoiding credit cards as much as possible. Doing so has helped me stay disciplined and avoid unnecessary interest charges over the years.”
More From GOBankingRates
