Curated Resources · Created June 4, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
Helpful links.
Curated outside resources for financial education, budgeting, banking, investing, credit, and taxes. These links support the Early Life Investments curriculum without replacing it.
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Financial Education Resources
Free and credible outside resources for students, parents, teachers, and self-learners.
These links point to outside educational resources. They are included because they can help families and learners build background knowledge. Early Life Investments remains focused on practical family application: lessons, worksheets, book reviews, discussion guides, and tools that help readers act on what they learn.
FDIC Money Smart for Young People
fdic.gov
Age-appropriate financial education curricula for pre-K through 12th grade, including educator guides, student handouts, slides, lessons, and parent/caregiver support.
Visit Site →FDIC Money Smart for Young Adults
fdic.gov
Instructor-led curriculum for young adults that covers practical money management, banking relationships, budgeting, savings, and financial confidence.
Visit Site →Next Gen Personal Finance
ngpf.org
Free, teacher-vetted personal finance curriculum for grades 6-12. Useful for classrooms, homeschool planning, and parents looking for structured lesson ideas.
Visit Site →EVERFI Financial Literacy
everfi.com
Free high school financial literacy course covering budgeting, credit, banking, financial planning, and real-world money decisions.
Visit Site →Intuit for Education
intuit.com
Free educational simulations and classroom resources connected to real-world topics such as taxes, credit, budgeting, accounting, and entrepreneurship. Included as an educational resource, not a product endorsement.
Visit Site →MyMoney.gov
mymoney.gov
Federal financial literacy portal with resources and tools for making informed money decisions across life stages, including youth and military-family resources.
Visit Site →Investor.gov
investor.gov
SEC investor education site with plain-language resources on investing basics, fees, fraud avoidance, compound interest, 529 plans, and checking investment professionals.
Visit Site →CFPB Money as You Grow
consumerfinance.gov
Parent-friendly activities and conversation starters for teaching children money habits at different ages and developmental stages.
Visit Site →Federal Student Aid
studentaid.gov
The official federal source for FAFSA, grants, loans, repayment plans, and student-aid basics. Useful for families planning college costs and young adults managing student debt.
Visit Site →— Series Two —
Reference Libraries
Broad reference sites for definitions, background reading, and deeper investing concepts.
Investopedia
investopedia.com
The first place to look up any finance term you don’t recognize. Definitions, worked examples, and short tutorials — without a paywall.
Visit Site →Khan Academy
khanacademy.org
Sal Khan’s free personal-finance video series — covers taxes, mortgages, retirement accounts, and investing in calm, no-jargon terms.
Visit Site →Bogleheads Wiki
bogleheads.org
The community wiki built around John Bogle’s low-cost index investing philosophy. The “getting started” page alone is worth a weekend read.
Visit Site →— Series Three —
Budgeting
Apps and tools for tracking where the money actually goes.
YNAB
youneedabudget.com
Subscription-based but worth it for many people. Forces you to give every dollar a job before you spend it.
Visit Site →EveryDollar
everydollar.com
Dave Ramsey’s zero-based budgeting app. Free tier is perfectly usable; paid tier adds bank syncing.
Visit Site →Monarch Money
monarchmoney.com
A polished Mint replacement — tracks accounts, budgets, net worth, and investments in one place.
Visit Site →— Series Four —
Banking
Where we keep checking, savings, and emergency funds.
Ally Bank
ally.com
Long-running online bank with consistently competitive savings rates, free transfers, and no minimums.
Visit Site →Discover Online Banking
discover.com
Solid no-fee checking, competitive savings, and well-known cash-back credit cards under one roof.
Visit Site →NerdWallet HYSA
nerdwallet.com
A regularly-updated table of the best high-yield savings rates. Check this once a year and switch if needed.
Visit Site →— Series Five —
Investments
Brokerages, custodial accounts, and 529 college plans.
Fidelity
fidelity.com
No-minimum index funds, excellent custodial / Roth IRA setup, and free trades.
Visit Site →Vanguard
vanguard.com
The home of low-cost index investing. VTI, VXUS, BND are the building blocks of countless boring, beautiful portfolios.
Visit Site →Charles Schwab
schwab.com
Excellent customer service and a strong lineup of low-cost index funds.
Visit Site →Saving for College
savingforcollege.com
The reference for comparing 529 plans state-by-state. Their plan-finder tool is excellent.
Visit Site →Morningstar
morningstar.com
Independent fund research, ratings, and screener. Use the free pages to dig into expense ratios.
Visit Site →Empower
empower.com
Free dashboard that aggregates every account into one net-worth view. The retirement planner alone is worth signing up for.
Visit Site →— Series Six —
Credit & Taxes
Free monitoring, official sources, and the IRS.
AnnualCreditReport.com
annualcreditreport.com
The only credit-report site authorized by federal law. You can pull all three bureaus weekly — for free.
Visit Site →Credit Karma
creditkarma.com
Free credit-score monitoring (TransUnion and Equifax). Useful for tracking how on-time payments move your number.
Visit Site →IRS.gov
irs.gov
When in doubt about a tax rule, go straight to the source. Publication 590-A and 970 are the references we use most.
Visit Site →