CashCourse


Learn how to plan effectively for your current and future financial well-being, while enhancing your money management skills with CashCourse. CashCourse equips students with the tools and knowledge needed to make informed and thoughtful financial decisions throughout their college careers. The link below will get you to the CashCourse website where you can create a FREE account as a Wichita State University student, choose the financial literacy courses that are most relevant to your needs and interests, and utilize their customizable financial tools for budgeting and more.

Access your free account here: CashCourse

If you need any assistance with signing up, please email our office at trio.sss@wichita.edu.

Online Resources for Financial Education


Build a customized list of financial resources for your library with these websites, videos, and courses from federal government agencies, national nonprofit organizations, and state and local resources.

Credit
AnnualCreditReport.com
This is the only source to get free credit reports authorized by federal law. This law requires each of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies to give you a free copy of your credit report every 12 months.

CreditKarma
A comprehensive financial tool that provides personalized insight and advice based on income, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio. Has a variety of helpful resources to help people reduce their debt, make important purchasing decisions and improve their overall financial health.

Investing

CFTC SmartCheck
Run by the U.S. CFTC, SmartCheck connects investors to tools to check the registration, license, and disciplinary history of certain financial professionals.

FINRA Professional Designations Database
Decode the letters that sometimes follow a financial professional’s name. You can also see whether the issuing organization requires continuing education, takes complaints or has a way for you to confirm who holds the credential.

FINRA Broker Check
Search for broker dealers to confirm they are properly registered and check their disciplinary histories.

Investor.gov
A site to help investors at all experience levels understand how to invest wisely and avoid fraud.

Housing

MakingHomeAffordable.gov
The Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) ® is a critical part of the Obama Administration’s broad strategy to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, stabilize the country’s housing market, and improve the nation’s economy.

Find a Housing Counselor
This online tool uses information from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to find HUD-certified housing counselors near you. HUD counselors can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues.

Children

For Me, For You, For Later
Target audiences: Young children and parents

Money as You Grow
A resource for parents and caregivers that identifies key stages of childhood financial development and provides essential and age-appropriate money lessons that kids need to know.

NEFE High School Financial Planning Program
A turnkey financial literacy program offered in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) through participating Land-Grant University Cooperative Extension Services (CES) and the Credit Union National Association, Inc. (CUNA).

Elementary School Economics
Personal finance and economic lessons are paired with popular children’s books. Librarians can read the book to the children and follow the reading with discussions about money decisions, saving, spending, choices, needs and wants and much more. Includes lesson plans and handouts.

Service Members

Military OneSource
This site helps military members and their families get their finances in order and plan for a healthy financial future.

Retirement

Planning for Retirement
It’s never too early to begin planning for retirement. Use this website to explore options for retirement and ways to begin saving.

Social Security Retirement Estimator
The Retirement Estimator gives benefits estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record.

Student Loans

Paying for College
Tools and information can help you make better informed decisions.

Federal Student Aid
Get information about preparing for college, types of federal aid, how to apply for aid using the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA); and your loan repayment options.

Federal Student Aid – Financial Aid Toolkit
The Financial Aid Toolkit provides federal student aid information and outreach tools for counselors, college access professionals, nonprofit mentors, and others.

General Financial Topics

USA.gov
The official web portal of the U.S. government. USA.gov contains timely and valuable government information and resources on a variety of topics including consumer protection, small business, benefits, health insurance, taxes and more.

MyCreditUnion.gov
The National Credit Union Administration’s consumer protection website MyCreditUnion.gov, and its financial literacy microsite, Pocket Cents, offer a variety of educational information, resources, and articles designed to help individuals make smarter financial decisions.

Consumer.gov
Includes easy-to-read and understand resources for basic money management, credit, scams, and ID theft.

Ask CFPB
Provides answers to common money questions.

Income Tax Withholding Calculator
Are you withholding to much or too little from your paycheck? Did you get married, divorced or have a child? Use this calculator to determine whether or not you need to file a new W-4.

Money Smart for Older Americans
An instructor-led training developed jointly by FDIC and CFPB, this module provides awareness among older adults and their caregivers about how to prevent elder financial exploitation and to encourage advance planning and informed financial decision-making.