Students

Financial Literacy Publications
for College Students

40 Money Management Tips Every College Student Should Know
National Endowment for Financial Education. Helps students get organized and offers tips on financial aid, checking accounts, spending plans, dorms and apartments, savings, jobs and debt.

Building Wealth: A Beginner’s Guide to Securing Your Financial Future
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Offers basic guidance to students, teachers, individuals and families. Through budgeting, saving, investing, and limiting the amount of debt you incur, it is possible to create personal wealth and reach your financial goals — such as paying off debt, managing college expenses, buying a car or home, starting a business or simply saving for future goals.

The Essentials: Your Guide to Credit
Bank of America. Provides information to help college students understand credit card basics. It gives tips on using credit wisely, creating and maintaining a budget, and protecting personal identity.

How to Establish, Use, and Protect Your Credit
Federal Reserve System publication. Explains why and how people save, and the importance of saving to the U.S. economy. The booklet focuses on advantages and disadvantages of various savings methods, such as U.S. Savings Bonds, stocks, and mutual funds. The concept of compound interest is explained.

Mission Possible: The Toolkit That Helps You Plan and Pay for College
The SallieMae Fund. Useful tools, forms, checklists and financial aid information that students can use as they prepare for college beginning freshman year in high school.

Pathways to Getting Ahead
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston & Brandeis University. This booklet is about making choices that can move you along the path toward the economic future you want for yourself. It’s also about increasing the chances that you attain the future you choose to seek. Making the best choices and increasing your chances aren’t easy. So you need to know what pathways lead from where you are to where you want to be. You need to know about ways to get on the path you pick, how to stay on it, and how to move ahead on it.

Playbook for Life
The student’s guide to understanding and planning your financial future. The 36-page booklet features practical tips, worksheets, and resources for helping create a successful financial plan

Right on the Money: Financial Know-How for College Students
Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Helps high school and college students become savvy money managers and “you don’t need a PhD in finance to do this”. Topics include checking accounts, savings, credit cards, financing college and more. “Gaining financial skills can mean the difference between worrying about bills and knowing you have money in the bank.”

Student Financial Handbook: An Easy-to-Use Guide for Managing Your Money
Bank of America. Provides basic information about financial services, including checking, savings, online banking, credit cards, student loans, budgeting, identity theft and credit ratings. Includes a glossary of financial terms, a list of sources of additional information, a college budget worksheet and a “test your knowledge quiz.

Student Loans: Avoiding Deceptive Offers
Federal Trade Commission. Explains how to spot potentially deceptive claims or business practices some private companies may use to get your student loan business.