Introduction to Financial Literacy Introduction – Why Care? It's Your Money

Welcome to the Financial Literacy module on budgeting. In the following lessons, we will learn how to take control of our money by identifying our expenses, our needs, and our wants. To get the most out of these lessons, watch the videos with your own financial situation in mind, and then take action. The activities provided are designed to help you sort out where your money is going and get you started creating an effective budget that will lead you to your financial goals. In this module, we will explore budgeting and managing expenses.

Have you ever gotten close to the end of the month, only to realize that you had run out of money? What did you do? Did you go without? Borrow money from a friend? Maybe you just floated the expense on a credit card. There's an old saying, "If you don't manage your money, your money will manage you."

Imagine for a moment that your current supply of money has been delayed or lost. Maybe your student loans were delayed a few months, or you lost your job. How long would you last before the lack of money started to control your life? According to a recent survey (Links to an external site.), 58% percent of Americans have less than $1000 saved up for emergencies, and nearly one in three people have no savings at all!

In this module, we will take control of our finances by creating a budget and building an emergency fund.