Money Smart: Your Savings (Module 5)

The FDIC Money Smart curriculum consists of 14 modules of financial education content. By completing these modules, you'll come away with practical knowledge, new skills, and resources you can use to manage your finances with confidence! See the full list of modules here.

Click below to start this module (will automatically download the PDF guide to your local file system) 

The focus of Module 5 is saving money for expenses, goals, and emergencies. It consists of five sections:

• Section 1: What is Saving?
  • Defining Saving
  • Why Save Money?
• Section 2: Where to Build Your Savings
  • Where to Put Your Savings
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Savings Options
  • Other Places for Savings
  • Deposit Insurance
  • Interest and Compounding
  • Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
  • The Rule of 72
• Section 3: Saving for Unexpected Expenses
  • Why Save for Unexpected Expenses?
  • Emergency Savings Fund Goal
  • Anticipating Changes to Income and Expenses
• Section 4: Saving for Your Goals
  • Your Hopes and Dreams
  • SMART Goals
  • How Much Money Should You Save for Your Goals?
  • Large Expenses
• Section 5: Saving and Public Benefits
  • Assets and Income Limits
  • Special Accounts and Public Benefits

Finished Module 5? Click here to access Module 6, which is about credit reports and scores, building productive credit histories, and repairing and improving credit.