3 Free Online Courses to Help You Manage Your Home and Money

One of the most tragic outcomes of the pandemic-led lockdowns was their negative impact on businesses.

As those who remain open struggle to keep up with the bills, an estimated 60% of those that closed during the lockdowns are expected to never open their doors again. Additionally, those who were employed by small and medium-sized companies found themselves out of a job.

With the number of unemployed Americans rising dramatically, many of the jobs left are short-term and part-time positions. In the age of endless lockdowns, the gig economy became the only one that is thriving. But not all of those who have been forced into the world of part-time work are managing well. Some of the groups struggling the most are women, minorities, and older Americans.

In an age when 40% of Americans would have had to borrow money to cover a $1,000 emergency prior to the lockdowns being implemented, most were not ready for a catastrophic 2020. Now, many are living on a fraction of the amount they earned just before the pandemic and are having to learn to manage on a lower income for much of the foreseeable future. After all, states have already begun to implement a second wave of shutdowns and there are some who say that life can never go back to normal.

For the time being, those who must live on a restricted budget will have to be smart about their money, and the internet is a great place to start when it comes to learning the basics of economics, finances, and home economics.

In the age of covid, learning how to balance a household budget can be a life-saving skill.

Here are three entirely free and digital sources for learning how money works, how you can go about making it work for you, and how to be a smart manager of your finances.

Econ 101: Not As Complicated As It Seems

Nobody comes about money accidentally. By the same token, you cannot be wise about your finances without understanding the mechanics behind economics.

For those who do not have much time, the Mises Institute has the perfect economics course for beginners.

Through short animated clips, viewers learn about the basics of economics, cost, money, profit, and capitalism without having to put too much time or effort into the process. In no time, viewers will understand how economics affects their lives, even in the smallest of ways.

If you are just now looking into how to better manage your finances, the Mises Institute’s Economics for Beginners series is a good place to start.

Personal Finances: Handling Cash and Credit with Ease

Once you’ve learned the basics of economics, the next natural step is to think about your finances. Managing your money and working toward building a better credit should be a priority for every working American, especially in times of crisis.

Indiana University provides a free online course on managing personal cash and credit that helps the viewer to establish credit, learn about banking, and how to evaluate credit options, among other valuable lessons.

The full course lasts four weeks, which are split into four different categories: managing liquid assets, open consumer credit, obtaining and managing credit, and consumer loans.

If you’re serious about your search for complete financial independence, this in-depth course can help you achieve your goals with confidence.

Home Economics: A Lost Art

Home economics used to be a class mainly offered to girls wanting to learn the basics of how to run a household. Over the decades, the subject matter lost its popularity in part because of the change in the career options available for women, but the contents of such classes remain important. Unfortunately, modern men (and women) have lost a great deal of valuable information by kicking what is today known as Family and Consumer Sciences (mostly) to the curb.

Thankfully, it’s 2020 and there’s an online course for that.

Seeing a need to help young families prepare themselves for modern and economical life, Whole Foods Market launched its own home economics digital curriculum. The program offers online classes that teach the student how to master everything from stocking up on the basics to transforming food scraps and leftovers.

It even provides a class that promises to make you an expert on what you should spend more on and what you should avoid, helping you to save over time.

If being smart about your money and knowing how and when to make a move matters to you, consider looking at these three courses. If anything, you will come out of the experience much more hopeful about your own skills — and less confused about how to go about your own budget.