- Thomas M.
- Wednesday, January 04
Financial literacy is one of the most important skills anyone can learn, and something is being done about it. A March 2022 survey from the National Endowment For Financial Education found that 80% of adults wish they had been required to take a course in financial literacy before graduating high school. Then, in July, South Carolina became the 15th state to require high school students to take a financial literacy course in order to graduate.
Richland Library offers a wealth of digital resources to help anyone seeking to learn and research financial topics. Check out some of the links and descriptions below to master your money and grow your wealth.
Ebooks
Hoopla - Titles on Hoopla are always available for checkout, which means no holds and no waiting. There are plenty of ebooks and audiobooks available in the categories of Finance, Personal Finance, and Investments. Checkout requires creating a free Hoopla account, and titles can be read online as well as in the Hoopla app.
Libby - Libby has over 200 ebooks and audiobooks on the topic of Finance. Titles checked out through Libby can be read online as well as in the Libby app and many brands of ereader.
Databases and Research
Gale Business Insights Global - Countries, companies, and industries are all analyzed, broken down, and compared across multiple metrics. Includes ValuEngine ratings and reports for individual companies, as well as direct comparison charts and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) reports.
MarketLine Company Profiles - Profiles on individual companies, including a timeline of major events, SWOT analysis, and lists of key products and employees.
Morningstar Investment Research Center - Includes research, news, and reports on stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs, plus an archive of Morningstar newsletters and articles on market trends and analysis. They have plenty of practical tools, including an Investing Classroom, Retirement Cost Calculator, College Cost Calculator, and a Portfolio X-Ray tool that is extremely helpful for comparing funds and portfolios. You could get lost exploring everything offered here.
LinkedIn Learning - The “Finance and Accounting” category includes skills for budding accountants as well as courses for people just getting started with financial concepts and helping themselves. Courses offer video content, downloadable exercises, and certifications upon completion.
Salem Online Reference Collection - The section “Principles of Business: Finance” is a textbook explaining many terms and historical movements in the world of finance.
Value Line - Richland Library’s Cooper, Northeast, Sandhills, and Main locations have reference copies of this print serial publication for in-library use. Value Line prides themselves as an extremely objective source of investment research. The Value Line University website offers a starting point for learning about stocks and bonds.
Personal Spending
Consumer Reports - Buying a quality product that suits your needs is one of the surest ways to save time and money in the long run. Consumer Reports is renowned for its thorough reviews of products across countless categories, especially cars, appliances, and electronics. Next time you need to make a big purchase, cut through marketing noise and let CR’s team of experienced evaluators share what works best, what to avoid, and what gets you the best bang for your buck.
Thomas M. is a Certified Financial Education Instructor℠ (CFEI®) and has previously blogged about Financial Lessons That Can Backfire, Talking To Kids About Money, and Which Money Animal Are You?
