Helpful Resources

Sarah Newman, Section Editor

Amortization Calculators

• Bankrate—http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages/amortization-calculator.aspx
• FedLoan Student Loans Repayment Plan Calculator—https://myfedloan.org/borrowers/repayment-plans/

Books

• Personal Finance for Dummies, by Eric Tyson—As expected with the Dummies series, this book breaks down the basics of personal finance into easy to manage chunks. Expect lessons on all areas of personal finance: budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, timely investments, and retirement.
• Debt-Free by 30, by Jason Anthony and Karl Cluck—This book helps you rework your personal finances and find additional money each month to put toward your debt. It also helps you to prioritize your debt and create a debt payment plan that doesn’t leave you overwhelmed by how much money you owe.
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi—Written with a sense of humor that will appeal to millennials, this book presents a practical approach to personal finance for the “materially ambitious but financially clueless” among us. The book is separated into a 6-week program centered around the four pillars of banking, saving, budgeting, and investing.
• A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton Malkiel—This book is a classic for those who want a deeper understanding of investing. It breaks down all things investment related from index funds to derivatives. A must-read for anyone who wants to manage their own investment portfolio.

Apps

• Mint—Best all-around personal finance app. This app lets you create budgets, keep track of your accounts, create financial goals, and pay bills, all in one app. You also get a free monthly credit score update, with recommendations for ways to improve it.
• You Need a Budget (YNAB)—Best for someone who finds it difficult to stick to a budget. But let’s be honest: who doesn’t occasionally? If you get off track with your budget during the month, YNAB helps you rebalance your budget around your remaining funds.
• Acorns—Best for automating savings. This app invests your money using your spare change. For every purchase made using a linked account, Acorns rounds up the purchase to the next dollar and funnels that money to a “micro investing” account.
• Stash—Best for beginner investors. With as little as $5 to get started, you can buy, sell, and monitor investment funds from the Stash app. It’s an easy way to start learning the basics of investing without the need for a lot of investment capital.

Podcasts

• You Need a Budget—The companion podcast for the YNAB app. Episodes focus around YNAB’s four rules of budgeting: give every dollar a job; save for a rainy day; roll with the punches; and live on last month’s income.
• Feed the Pig—This podcast features financial teachings from the experts at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and covers all the basics of personal finance. 
• Freakonomics Radio—The offshoot of the popular productivity books of the same name, this podcast teaches listeners how to think more productively, rationally, and creatively—all of which can help you better manage your personal productivity and your finances.