Online money management courses give students the flexibility to access just the information they need at a time and place most convenient for them. These courses have the added benefit of anonymity. From the perspective of the college or university, these courses can be very cost-effective. Many are offered at no charge.
Buttonwood
Buttonwood™ is a web-based personal finance and student loan management platform for college students. Iowa college students can access Buttonwood™ at www.IHaveAPlanIowa.gov.
Modules
Buttonwood™ addresses over 600 key financial concepts through seven modules, focusing on financial aid and student loan default prevention. The modules are:
- Savings and Banking
- Credit Cards and Consumer Fraud
- Credit Score and Credit Reports
- Financing Higher Education
- Renting vs. Owning
- Insurance and Taxes
- Investing
Interactive Tools
Robust tools and calculators bring concepts to life by allowing students to analyze their monthly budgets and make dynamic decisions about finances and loan repayments.
Real-Life Simulations
Students apply their learning in virtual environments which directly reflect real-life situations. Variables, such as enrollment status, marital status, debt level and more are taken into consideration by the system when customizing the user’s experience.
Cash Course
CashCourse helps students build money management skills, survive in a tough economy and prepare for success. The course begins with a three-question survey and recommends specifics areas of interest based on the student’s responses. CashCourse is customized to each individual college or university.
The program covers five primary areas:
- Financial Basics
- Paying for College
- College Life
- World of Work
- Economic Survival Tips
Numerous topics are addressed within each of these areas. For example, Financial Basics covers:
- Budgeting & Financial Planning
- Overspending
- Banking Your Money
- Dealing with Debit & Credit Cards
- Mixing Money & Family
- Protecting Your Credit
- Preventing Identity Theft
- Avoiding Quick Financial Fixes
- Setting Financial Goals
- Saving Money
- Planning to Be Rich
- Planning for Retirement
- Paying for College
CashCourse includes calculators, worksheets, articles, videos, a financial dictionary and numerous other resources.
CashCourse is a free, noncommercial program provided by The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®).
Love Your Money
Love Your Money provides college students with the information and tools they need to manage their money, understand the financial markets and save and invest wisely. The course features a video simulation of a group of college students and follows them through many financial challenges. Modules can be accessed individually and address:
- Measuring Financial Health
- Spend a Little Less, Save a Lot More
- How Debt Can Keep Us from Building Wealth
- Tracking Your Money
- The Importance of An Emergency Fund
- You and Your 401(k)
- Financial Fraud Schemes
Resources include numerous calculators, worksheets and links to other helpful websites.
Love Your Money is coordinated by The University of Tennessee Extension Department of Family & Consumer Sciences in partnership with The University of Florida, Kansas State University, The University of Kentucky and Mississippi State University. This site was made possible by a generous grant from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
Financial Avenue
Financial Avenue courses include:
- Budgeting
- Contracts
- Credit Cards
- Credit History
- Identity Theft
- Paying for College
This programs also provides a number of mini-modules which focus on such topics as:
- Borrowing Money
- Taxes and You
- Insurance Basics
- Banking Basics
- Your First Job
- Investing
- Paycheck Basics
- Saving Basics
- Working in College
- Tackling Debt
Who Wants to be Financially Responsible?
A light-hearted approach to learning money management. The student is a contestant on a game show. Prior to each series of questions on a particular topic, they have timed assess to a “cram session”. All the in and outs of that topic are covered in the session. Then, it’s time to demonstrate their knowledge. Wrong answers provide a video learning opportunity. These courses also come with a companion booklet, introducing them to all the topics. The course covers:
- Credit Cards
- Debt Management
- Cash Management
- Net Worth & Budgeting
- Investing
- Identity Theft
- The FICO Credit Score
Who Wants to be Financially Responsible? Cram Sessions are also available in Spanish.
This program is presented by the University of Connecticut Department of Higher Education.
