Financial Education
Plain language guides to help you make confident decisions about saving, borrowing, investing and protecting yourself.
How much should you keep in an emergency fund?
A practical way to choose a target and build it in stages.
Credit utilization, explained
Why the balance on your card matters even when you pay in full.
Building a certificate of deposit ladder
Balance higher rates with regular access to cash.
Preparing to buy your first home
Budget, down payment and credit steps to take a year ahead.
A simple way to build a monthly budget
Start with what you already spend, then decide what to change.
APR and APY: what the difference means
One describes what you pay to borrow, the other what you earn when you save.
How to read your account statement
A quick tour of each section, and what to check every month.
Building credit responsibly
Habits that help your credit over time, and the ones that hold it back.
Traditional or Roth: choosing a retirement account
The main difference is when you pay tax on the money.
Where to start
Guides are grouped by what you are trying to do. Use the filters above, or begin with one of these.
- New to budgeting: A simple way to build a monthly budget
- Saving: How much should you keep in an emergency fund?
- Borrowing: Preparing to buy your first home
- Credit: Credit utilization, explained
- Safety: How to spot a phishing message
A simple order of operations
- 1
Know where your money goes
Track spending for a month before you change anything.
- 2
Build an emergency fund
Start with one month of essentials and work toward three to six.
- 3
Pay down high interest debt
Extra payments on the highest rate debt save the most.
- 4
Save for the goals you name
Give each goal a date and a monthly amount.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about financial education.