Personal finance and financial literacy resources

Simple line drawing of a person walking upstairs while carrying a briefcase.Our Sage Skills: Business resource includes a module on Data Analytics in Daily Life that will help you understand how data analytics is an increasingly core skill in many aspects of life. See especially, the sections in that module on Personal Finance Data and Monthly Budgeting and on Analyzing Long-Term Finances.

Never heard of Sage Skills: Business?  It's an online resource designed to help students work on key skills needed in all workplaces... and in daily life! It features many short videos, scenarios, and self assessments for interactive learning. Plus our license includes remote access by SFU alumni, so you'll always be able to return to it to brush up on important skills. Check out our blog post for more details.

This guide will help you find resources related to personal finance and financial literacy, helping you to understand how to make financial decisions and best manage your money.

Videos

  • LinkedIn Learning
    • Streaming video courses such as Financial Foundations, Budgeting in Real Life, Financial Wellness: Managing Personal Cash, Personal Finance Tips & Tricks, and Managing Your Personal Finances.
       
  • Also consider the Khan Academy site for video courses such as Personal Finance.

Books & ebooks 

The SFU Library has many books on topics related to personal finance. Try using the terms below to search in the library catalogue.

  • Budgets, personal
  • College students -- Canada -- Finance, Personal
  • Consumer Credit
  • Finance, Personal
    • For the broader category of investing, try Investments or related subject headings
  • Finance, Personal -- Canada
  • Portfolio Management
  • Retirement planning
  • Tax planning -- Canada -- Popular works

These search terms will find titles such as this recent open e-textbook aimed at undergraduate students: Financial empowerment : personal finance for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people and this 2019 ebook: Essential personal finance : a practical guide for students.

Journal and magazine articles

  • Business Source Complete
    • Along with scholarly journals and specialized business information, this database also contains magazines on topics such as banking and insurance; for example, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, a popular American personal finance magazine. Try adding additional keywords to these broad searches on Personal finance and Personal budgets.
        
  • CBCA Complete
    • Includes newspapers, magazines (such as MoneySense, Canada's most popular personal finance magazine), and trade journals with personal finance information.
      Tip: Try searching for Personal finance and scroll to the bottom of the first page of your result list to see other suggested searches such as personal finance AND retirement.
    • Sample from CBCA: 9 budgeting tips for university students. (Macleans, Nov. 2, 2021)
  • Factiva
    • Contains articles and newswires from numerous financial sources such as MarketWatch, the Wall Street Journal, and Dow Jones Newswires, making it an excellent resource for news about investments and current market conditions.

Websites

General personal finance

Debt, loans, and credit

Investing

  • BC Securities Commission: InvestRight
    • InvestRight is an educational website from the BC Securities Commission that aims to provide investors with the tools to research and assess potential investments and protect themselves from unsuitable or fraudulent investments.
       
  • Globe Investor
    • Includes news and analysis from the popular national newspaper The Globe & Mail. Also includes a section on Personal Finance. If you are asked to pay for access to an article at the G&M site, remember that you also have online access through several SFU Library databases.

Taxation

Resources for students

  • Government of Canada: Managing Your Money
    • Includes links to Government of Canada services and information concerning budgeting, banking, money transfers, insurance and planning your finances at different life stages.
        
  • Scholarships Canada
    • Provides a database of scholarships, bursaries, grants and student awards. Requires you to register for a free account.

Student budgeting tools

Other local guides