3 free personal finance courses to help navigate coronavirus economy

Being smart about money can help in a coronavirus-riddled economy

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The coronavirus pandemic has thrown the economy into a whirlwind.

Businesses have closed, big events have been canceled and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has spiked both ways. Not to mention the unemployment rate — 14.7 percent — is at its highest rate since the Great Depression and U.S. employers cut 20.5 million jobs in April.

That leaves some Americans in a precarious spot, juggling bills and trying to stretch their income, even as President Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package, which includes ramped-up unemployment benefits and individual payments to U.S. residents.

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Having some personal finance know-how can go a long way in weathering an economic storm and come in handy when planning a move like buying a house or saving for retirement.

Here are three free courses that can help you get better with money:

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Udemy

This online learning platform is geared toward professionals. As part of its one-and-a-half-hour personal finance course, it covers the basics in budgeting, saving and managing debt.

In a new report in which Udemy analyzed global trends on the platform, the site found people interested in learning on the platform has peaked during shutdown, including a 425 percent spike in enrollments for consumers and 55 percent jump in course creation by instructors.

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Alison

If you want to learn about business, science or technology, the Alison learning portal has a course for that. If you want to learn about money, there’s a course for that there, too.

In a personal finance course, lasting between six and 10 hours, users can learn the fundamentals of budgeting and savings as well as managing credit and planning for retirement. Users then take an assessment at the end to prove they understand the material.

Khan Academy

If you’re looking to get into investing, insurance or learn about retirement, the Khan Academy online learning platform is a good place to go. Users here can brush up on their knowledge about exchange-traded funds, Roth IRAs and 401(k) plan in the website’s free course.

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