Curriculum Resources for Financial Educators

Explore curriculum resources in financial education for adults, youth, small businesses, trainers and coaches, and more. 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Resources for Financial Educators


FDIC: Money Smart – A Financial Education Program
Money Smart is a comprehensive financial education curriculum designed to help low and moderate income individuals outside the financial mainstream enhance their financial skills and create positive banking relationships.

  • Money Smart for Adults
  • Money Smart for Young People
  • Money Smart for Young Adults
  • Money Smart for Small Business
  • Train-the-Trainer Resources

Hopelink Financial Foundations for Immigrants and Refugees

FACILITATOR GUIDE:

Hopelink’s Financial Foundations for Immigrants and Refugees facilitator guide contains four modules. An introduction and three content-specific modules on financial topics that were chosen and created based on input from members of our community who identify as immigrants and refugees, as well as those who provide services and support to them.  

This facilitator guide was developed for financial education professionals, volunteers, service providers, and individuals who have a passion for supporting this community but may not have much experience facilitating financial discussions. The guide and participant workbooks can be used in a formal classroom setting, in small groups, or individually. The materials are free to download and customizable so you can adjust them to meet the needs of those you serve. 

PARTICIPANT WORKBOOKS:

Participant workbooks are available to download in multiple languages (Arabic, Chinese, Dari, English, Farsi, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian) to address the growing need to increase access to linguistically appropriate financial education and financial coaching services. Individuals who have recently arrived in the United States and have limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English experience significant barriers to accessing safe, and affordable financial products and services, community resources, and financial education opportunities. They also face challenges navigating and fully participating in the U.S. financial system, which impacts achieving financial well-being for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Financial Foundations is meant to be a starting place to have money conversations and help you support the financial education needs of immigrants and refugees with whom you are working. These needs will vary and so will the pace and depth you will need to cover in each module. 

FDIC Youth Banking Resource Center
Learn about strategies to enhance youth financial education efforts with an opportunity to open a savings account.

FDIC Youth Employment Resource Center
Explore the FDIC’s resources that support financial education and access to safe, affordable insured accounts for youth participating in employment programs. In particular, FDIC’s Money Smart curricula can help meet the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) financial literacy element.

FDIC Learning Bank
The FDIC created the Learning Bank to provide information about using money wisely, how banks work, and the differences between types of bank accounts and loans. You’re never too young to create smart financial habits that will help you manage your money!


Financial Beginnings
Financial Beginnings provides engaging, age-appropriate financial education programs. Programs are always provided at no cost to partner or participant. Programs are full-service and they supply all curriculum and supplemental materials. Financial Beginnings also provides trained volunteers who teach the lessons of each program.


Annie Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative: Keys to Your Financial Future
The Casey Foundation offers a comprehensive financial education curriculum — built around eight modules or "keys" — to help youth grow their financial aptitude and make better financial decisions. Guides for facilitators and youth participating in the training are available.


Jump$tart Coalition Clearinghouse
Jump$tart Coalition Clearinghouse is an online library of financial education resources for teachers, parents, caregivers, and anyone committed to financial smarts for students.

Junior Achievement – JA Finance Park
JA Finance Park builds a foundation of personal finance skills through an experiential, real-life simulation. Students complete a self-guided online curriculum and then participate in a simulation.


Northwest Credit Association (NWCUA): Financial Reality Fair – Simulation
Northwest Credit Association has created financial fair kits to promote financial capability among youth. Using their smartphones or tablets, each student downloads a persona, career, and starting salary. They are guided through a day-in-the-life of an adult’s financial responsibilities, and each of them must finish the exercise with a balanced budget.


Practical Money Skills for Life
Practical Money Skills offers interactive tools and educational resources to help individuals and communities build stronger financial futures. The free educational resources include personal finance articles, lesson plans, mobile apps and games.

Annie E. Casey Foundation: Youth and Credit
This guide provides a step by step process for adults working with young people in foster care to implement the credit check requirement authorized through federal legislation in 2011. This provision requires that child welfare agencies check the credit reports of young people in foster care who are 16 and older to identify and fix any inaccuracies in their credit history. The guide recommends that adults use the requirement as an opportunity to educate young people about the threat of identity theft and the importance of establishing good credit, as well as to help young people leave foster care with clear credit histories.


Biz Kid$
Biz Kid$ is a national financial literacy initiative based on the Emmy Award-winning public television series where kids teach kids about money and business.


CFPB Videos and Webinars
CFPB FinEx is a place where financial educators, practitioners, counselors, researchers, and others can share information and best practices, learn from one another, advance their work, and see what CFPB is doing to help consumers.

Watch the recordings or read the transcripts of their videos on a number of topics.


Commonwealth, formerly D2D Fund
Commonwealth strengthens the financial opportunity and security of financially vulnerable people by discovering ideas, piloting solutions, and driving innovations to scale.


FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
The Latest in Consumer Advice

  • Money & Credit: Buying & Owning a Car, Credit & Loans, Dealing with Debt & Resolving Consumer Problems
  • Homes & Mortgages: Home Loans, Home Improvement, Saving Energy at Home and Renting & Timeshares
  • Health & Fitness:  Healthy Living, Treatment & Cures & Weight Loss & Fitness
  • Jobs & Making Money: Education & Training, Job Hunting, Working from Home, Going into Business & Investments & Grants
  • Privacy, Identity & Online Security:  Limiting Unwanted Calls and Emails, Online Security, Protecting Kids Online and Identity Theft
  • Blog
  • Video & Media
  • Scam Alerts

Bank On Louisville: Start Fresh! Workshop
Bank On Louisville sponsors the Start Fresh! workshop for people who have been denied new accounts due to negative (non-fraud) banking histories, and who are willing to participate in a BOL partner-approved financial education program. 


Khan Academy - Practical Money Skills
Khan Academy is a series of informational videos on a variety of money related topics, including: Taxes, inflation, mortgages, mutual funds, 401(k)s, and more.


NEFE Financial Workshop Kits
Financial Workshop Kits teaching how to organize effective financial management in holdings, and what difficulties may arise in practice.


University of Arizona: Take Charge Today
Take Charge Today is a program and curriculum with a decision-based approach to personal finance. Formerly Family Economics & Financial Education, Take Charge Today provides a consistent framework for thinking through financial choices in order to improve well-being.


Vulcan Productions: We the Economy
In 2014 Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Cinelan partnered to produce WE THE ECONOMY 20 Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss. Each film was made by an acclaimed filmmaker, each with their own creative vision. The series aims to drive awareness and establish a better understanding of the U.S. economy. Told through animation, comedy, musical, non-fiction, and scripted films, WE THE ECONOMY seeks to demystify a complicated topic while empowering the public to take control of their own economic futures.


The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)
DFI protects consumers and advances the financial health of Washington State by providing fair regulation of financial services and educating consumers to make informed financial decisions. Request a presentation or download resources for educators. Read financial education news and updates on the Money Talks Financial Education Blog.


The Washington Office of the State Treasurer
The Office of the State Treasurer offers free interactive financial education modules covering a range of topics, conducts virtual Financial Wellness workshops, and conducts financial education presentations.


Your Money, Your Goals:  A Financial Empowerment Toolkit

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created, Your Money, Your Goals, a toolkit that social services organizations can use to help their clients choose financial products and build skills in managing money, credit, and debt.  Social services staff can use the toolkit to help clients  dealing with debt and includes tools for:

  • Understanding secured and unsecured debt
  • How much debt is too much?
  • Avoiding debt traps
  • Debt collection
  • Debt management and reduction worksheets
  • Student loan repayment
  • Responding to debt collectors