You don’t need any background knowledge to enrol and complete Alison’s free online personal finance courses, not even maths or accounting. There are no entry requirements other than your desire to learn about a subject. We suggest your start with some introductory courses such as Practical Lessons on Personal Finance or An Introductory Course in Personal Finance and Credit and then progress from there to more complex work.

Alison’s free online certificate courses in personal finance provide a practical introduction to a range of subjects relating to budgeting. Along with the courses above, we also recommend Understanding Mortgages and Home Equity, Introduction to Managing Your Personal Finance Debts and Introduction to Life Insurance and Retirement Savings for a series of courses that will help you get your finances in order long into the future.

Getting to grips with your personal finances can have many positive benefits if you put the lessons you learn from these courses in place. You will be less stressed because you will understand where your money is going. You will be able to pay off debt faster, freeing up cash for other things. You may be able to secure a mortgage and buy your own home. You could invest cleverly and be able to use your investments for paying for your children’s education. You could even formulate a plan to have a stable retirement income once you can’t work any more.