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Personal Finance 101: Everything You Need to Know (Udemy.com)

Everything you need to know about personal finance in the U.S, presented through concise, engaging, animated videos.

Created by: MoneyCoach.io

Last updated June 2017

Our take

Based on the ratings of 5,559 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in June 2017. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a free, US-focused personal finance primer from MoneyCoach.io, a financial education startup. It runs about 3 hours across 53 lectures, and most videos are under five minutes. Topics range from bank accounts, credit cards and taxes to student loans, car buying, renting, home buying, and money in marriage and divorce. Over 90,000 students have enrolled. It is built for people who have never thought about money, and the makers say so plainly.

Reviewers like the pace and the look. They call the animated lessons quick, easy to follow and engaging, and reviewers around 40 and 50 say they are picking up things they should have learned long ago. The complaints are real, though. The last update was June 2017, and recent reviewers flag dated quiz questions, including the rules on paying a buyer's agent. Others mention lessons out of order, no reminder answer after a wrong quiz response, and no printable notes. Low-star reviewers also dispute the advice on credit, debt payoff and permanent life insurance.

Ratings are solid: about 4.5 from 5,559 reviews, with roughly 84 percent giving four or five stars. It is free, so the only real cost is time. Treat it as a friendly first pass, then check specifics on credit, insurance and tax rules against a current source before acting. Good for a gentle overview, less so for anyone who needs up-to-date detail.

Best forComplete beginners in the US who want short animated lessons on everyday money decisions, from a first bank account to buying a home.
Skip it ifYou want current, mainstream advice on credit and insurance, or anything beyond the basics of investing.

Pros

  • Videos run under five minutes, so lessons fit into a lunch break
  • Animated visuals that reviewers call engaging and easy to understand
  • Covers life events beyond the basics, from renting and car buying to marriage and divorce
  • Free, with no math or software needed, and over 90,000 students enrolled

Cons

  • Last updated in 2017, and reviewers flag dated quiz questions and real estate rules
  • Low-star reviewers dispute the credit, debt and permanent life insurance advice
  • US only, with no printable notes and no reminder after a wrong quiz answer
This is an AWESOME course. I'm almost 50 and have been at my same employer for almost 30 years and there's a lot of information here that I didn't know.
Devon Ashley, a student

Listed for all levels, but really for true beginners. It says it is not for advanced investing or financial modeling.

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What you will learn

  • At the end of this course, students will be able to...
  • Build excellent credit
  • Manage debt, including student loans
  • Invest wisely and effortlessly
  • File a tax return
  • Get a great bank account
  • Understand credit cards
  • Understand and get six types of insurance
  • Make a spending plan
  • Buy a car
  • Find a great apartment
  • Buy a house
  • Get a jump start on retirement
  • Save for college
  • Get out of credit card debt
  • Avoid identity theft and fraud
  • Understand an estate plan
  • Navigate dating and finances
  • Navigate marriage and finances
  • Navigate children and finances
  • Navigate divorce and finances

Course content

17 sections · 53 lectures · 3 hours of video 52 quizzes

  1. 1Introduction 1 free preview1 lecture · 1 min
  2. 2Building Your Financial Foundation2 lectures · 2 quizzes · 8 min
  3. 3Bank Account Basics2 lectures · 2 quizzes · 6 min
  4. 4Credit Card Basics3 lectures · 3 quizzes · 10 min
  5. 5Tax Basics3 lectures · 3 quizzes · 11 min
  6. 6Loan Basics2 lectures · 2 quizzes · 7 min
  7. 7Debt Management4 lectures · 4 quizzes · 13 min
  8. 8Financing Your Education4 lectures · 4 quizzes · 14 min
  9. 9Investing Basics3 lectures · 3 quizzes · 13 min
  10. 10Car Shopping Basics5 lectures · 5 quizzes · 15 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • This course is meant for anyone looking to learn (and eventually master!) personal finance. And yes, we do mean anyone! We designed this course to be accessible and useful for everyone, especially complete beginners, whether they're just heading off to college or just getting ready for retirement.
  • This course is NOT meant for anyone looking to learn advanced investment techniques or financial modeling.

What you need before you start

  • No outside materials or software is required to take this course.
  • No knowledge of mathematics or statistics is required for this course.
  • No prior personal finance experience is required for this course.
  • The only thing you need is access to the internet and a willingness to learn!

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Course Description

This course is designed for anyone looking to gain an excellent, practical knowledge of personal finance, covering everything from to taxes to credit cards. Sound intimidating? Don't worry! This course is designed with complete beginners in mind. No previous personal finance knowledge (or math!) is required, and you will never need outside software or materials. 

As for how this course is structured, we designed it to maximize your enjoyment and engagement. That’s why we teach you an entire personal finance curriculum through a series of short (<5 min), engaging, animated videos. Each video teaches you everything you need to know (practically-speaking) about a specific topic, like investing, in a way that even a total beginner can understand. And with over 52 videos in total, more than 3 hours of content, you’ll learn everything you need to know about personal finance, from how to pay your taxes to how to buy a car to how to pay off your student loans! 

Finally, as for our background, we're MoneyCoach, a financial education startup that has spent the past year developing this curriculum (with the help of a financial advisor) to fill the void in financial education and to teach people personal finance in the most effective way possible. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!  

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Instructor Details

MoneyCoach.io

MoneyCoach is a free website that makes it fun and easy for anyone to learn how to manage their finances online. 

MoneyCoach was designed by college students and backed by financial professionals! 

Our educational videos closely align with the U.S. Treasury Financial Education Core Competencies, a comprehensive blueprint designed to enhance baseline financial literacy in the United States. Beyond these competencies, our curriculum also includes Estate Planning, Long-Term Disability and Renters Insurance, How to Get Housing, How to Get a Car, Finances and Relationships, and much more.

Here's what Professor Karin Bonding, CFA and longtime Personal Finance Professor at UVA had to say about MoneyCoach: "The videos presented in MoneyCoach will prepare even the most unprepared student at any university to avoid some of the most basic financial pitfalls. Having taught personal finance for 19 years at University of Virginia, I can attest to the financial illiteracy prevalent among students. These videos will be of invaluable help in overcoming the shame of having to ask questions that maybe should have been obvious, but somehow stump even the brightest student. An absolute must-have for any young person."

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Reviews

4.5

5,559 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Ashley on 10/20/2025

Thank you for providing this valuable information for free! It gave me a solid foundation of what I need to know and even helped debunk a few myths I had about the Affordable Care Act, taxes, and health care. This resource was much needed and is truly appreciated—thank you, team!

By Iliya Mela on 2/3/2025

wow! I got so hooked that I had to watch everything in one go. The lessons were super concise and very comprehensive. It's really a one stop shop for financial literacy. I particularly like how the lessons addressed all age range and different people at different stages of life. I highly recommend. I will have to watch it again

By Matthew Innes on 9/10/2020

I think this course was a good experience for me. It helped me to become more financially literate & knowledgable. Some parts weren't as easy to follow since the situation isn't applicable to me at this time, but becoming educated on the major points of personal finance will hopefully help me in the long-run.

By Josefa Walsh on 7/23/2020

Some of the information does not apply to my situation but good to know anyway. There is an error in the financial aid section where it showed a calendar for October and the narrator said the cut off date for apply for student aid is October but the test has one of the answers as January. I knew this was wrong but the other 2 options were correct. When selecting one of the correct answers it tells you you are wrong and the correct answer ended up being "All of the above" which is incorrect. I also feel like this course is one big commercial for another website.

By Hailey McCall on 5/19/2020

This course has been amazing, the only free one I could find and I am beyond happy and learning so much. Now I want to take a Udemy course in finance and will be willing to pay. Hands down best site. I could not afford to pay for a class that I did not have a intro to first, been amazing, thank you

By Kiyana-Nicole Smith on 10/21/2019

Yes this experience is sufficient and simple for me because the narrator breaks the concept down with images and gives you examples and background information on each topic. The questions after each video is tedious and annoying but it really helps your understand what your learned.

By Lamar Thomas on 5/3/2018

I learned that as Old as I am I Should have known about Financial 101 years ago! I feel like I've been living in a Cave half my LIFE! This Course is So awesome and Amazing; I just had to Share it with my kids! What I was able to Get Out of this course is very much Conducive to me obtaining Financial Freedom at this time! I learned to budget, how to Pay Off School Loans, (Which is Key) and how to Properly Obtain Loans from the Bank! How to Save is a Big one for Me, and since then I have Opened an Online Bank for my Savings! Thanks MoneyCoach...

By Shandi Conner on 4/19/2018

I felt as if the diagrams and the real life situations were very enlightening on this dreadful experience that I would never wish on another soul. Even though it took hours I did learn the importance of Life Insurance and what I need to if I was to get divorced. This program is a reliable source if you are having financial and or other life problems.

By Bill Shepard on 3/1/2018

There were a lot of topics covered. The topics were not discussed with a lot of detail, but there were accurately explained and spoke about references to go to for more information. I learned something on each topic covered. The instructor spoke very clearly in an easy to understand manner. There animations with the topics helped reinforce the topic.

By Atanu roychowdhury on 9/21/2017

This is a very good course and it will give you all the information required for a novice all together. I am from India so some of the example not applicable to me, but the basic nature of the education is good enough to tally with Indian circumstances(For US citizen this is outstanding, for other country scenario might changed). So you can use this course as a guidance to compile with Indian scenario. Thank you for the great learning. Wish you all the best. :)

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Overall Score : 90 / 100