Smart Money Habits
In today's digital world, leveraging media and technology to provide educational solutions based on financial knowledge from trusted experts empowers financial freedom. In this Smart Money Habits section, you can access credible multimedia resources that help you discover digital financial tools and improve your financial well-being. For further topic-specific insights, explore The New York Public Library's collections, programs, and services on personal finance management.
Smart Money Habits is a financial learning series produced by experts at the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) in partnership with Media Smart Citizens and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) of The New York Public Library.
Financial Building Blocks
Financial Building Blocks are important for managing money wisely. Building smart money habits can help you achieve your goals.
Money in a Digital World
Managing your money in a digital world is a necessity. Digital tools can help you monitor your credit score or apply for a loan.
Budgeting for College
Going to college is a major life milestone. Having guidance on how to get financial aid is critical. (Video coming soon!)
Books
The financial diet : a total beginner's guide to getting good with money by ISBN: 9781250176165Publication Date: 2018-01-02The Financial Diet is the personal finance book for people who don't care about personal finance. Whether you're in need of an overspending detox, buried under student debt, or just trying to figure out how to live on an entry-level salary, The Financial Diet gives you tools to make a budget, understand investments, and deal with your credit.
Financially forward : how to use today's digital tools to earn more, save better, and spend smarter by ISBN: 9781984823526Publication Date: 2019-05-14Chief digital officer at Northwestern Mutual, founder/CEO of LearnVest, and New York Times bestelling author shows how to use the simple tools of the digital age to get more out of our money. We live in a new financial world. Our wallets--like every other aspect of our lives--have gone fully digital. From mobile pay to on-demand everything to cryptocurrencies, technology is rewriting the rules for how we earn, save, spend and invest.
Managing your money all-in-one for dummies by ISBN: 9781119883357Publication Date: 2022-06-28Time and money. Those are the two most important assets you have, and smart people manage both of them wisely. Managing Your Money All-in-One For Dummies is your one-stop resource to turn to when you're ready to manage your money. It offers everything you need to confidently handle your finances.
Personal finance 101 : from saving and investing to taxes and loans, an essential primer on personal finance by ISBN: 9781507214350Publication Date: 2020-10-13Get your financial life in order--from saving and investing to taxes and loans--with this comprehensive, accessible guide to everything you need to know about finance. Managing your finances can be overwhelming at times. But it doesn't have to be! Personal Finance 101 will provide you with all the skills you need to make good financial decisions and grow your personal wealth.
1001 ways to pay for college : strategies to maximize college savings, financial aid, scholarships, and grants by ISBN: 9781617601668Publication Date: 2021-05-18Completely revised with updated descriptions, contact information, websites, and available monies, this guide to financing higher education is the only resource students need to fund their pursuit of knowledge. Balancing detailed explanations with real-life examples and practical resources, the featured topics include finding and winning scholarships, requesting a reassessment from colleges for more financial aid, maximizing assistance from state and federal governments, taking advantage of educational tax breaks, and benefiting from government-subsidized student loans.
Money matters for teens : advice on spending and saving, managing income, and paying for college by ISBN: 9781510759923Publication Date: 2022-02-15In Money Matters for Teens, young writers discuss their financial fears and the strategies they've learned to help them spend their money wisely, save for the future, and pay for college. In this book, teens write about learning to handle money wisely, to manage their own income, to pay for college, and how our larger economic system determines their financial standing.
Paying for College by ISBN: 9780593516492Publication Date: 2022-09-20Financing a college education is a daunting task no matter your circumstances. With line-by-line instructions for filling out the FAFSA and consumer-friendly advice to minimize college costs, Paying for College helps you maximize your financial aid eligibility.
The Ultimate Scholarship Book by ISBN: 9781617601729Publication Date: 2022-09-06Information on 1.5 million scholarships, grants, and prizes is easily accessible in this revised directory with more than 300 new listings that feature awards indexed by career goal, major, academics, public service, talent, athletics, religion, ethnicity, and more. Each entry contains all the necessary information for students and parents to complete the application process, including eligibility requirements, how to obtain an application, how to get more information about each award, sponsor website listings, award amounts, and key deadlines. With scholarships for high school, college, graduate, and adult students, this guide also includes tips on how to conduct the most effective search, how to write a winning application, and how to avoid scams.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is an online educational site that features thousands of courses and video tutorials where you can discover, complete, and track courses related to your field and interests. It is free to access from anywhere using your NYPL library card. Here are some of the online classes offered:
Budgeting in Real Life
Most budgets fail. But it’s not because the people who made them failed—it’s because they were set up to fail. Budgets are useless if they don’t work in real life. In this course, learn how to create a budget that meets you where you are. Financial planner and fintech consultant Natalie Taylor explains how to overcome the most common budgeting pitfalls, budget based on your values, and set achievable goals.
Financial Adulting
In this course you can learn how to move beyond your fears about money—and start making money work for you. It's never too late to take control! Learn step-by-step techniques to eliminate bad debt, build a good credit score, and generate passive income.
Managing Your Personal Finances
In this course, financial expert Jane Barratt shows how opportunities arise when you change your attitude towards money. She walks you through the basics of personal finance—earning, spending, saving, and investing—with an eye for finding opportunities to enrich your life.
Thomas Yoseloff Business Center
The Thomas Yoseloff Business Center at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) is The New York Public Library’s premier business library, offering an array of free resources for those interested in personal finance and investing, small business, financial research, and career services. It also provides premium electronic resources and services for businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to established businesses seeking expansion, and for job seekers, from entry to executive levels.
Are you interested in learning about investing or saving or planning for retirement? Would you like help in managing your money, or paying off debt? Book a free online session with one of their professional counselors. Do you want to attend a finance class or program? See their calendar of upcoming events. For more information and resources, please visit their guides on Personal Finance and Financial Planning.
College & Career Pathways
Whether you're working on college applications or trying to figure out what career is best for you, The New York Public Library's College & Career Pathways program is here for you, with resources, individual counseling, college and career prep workshops, and programs to help you take the next big step.
There are informational videos to give you guidance on different topics that will help you prepare for what comes after high school. You can also sign up for a one on one session (15 to 30 minutes) with a College and Career Pathways (CCP) librarian to get individual postsecondary readiness assistance online. In addition, there are a wide array of free programs across the Library, including at our neighborhood branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.
College & Career Pathways has been made possible thanks to the generous support of The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.