Courses on Personal Finance for Women

Anita was a human resources director at a Fortune 500 company. She loved to see independent women in the workforce and felt a strong need to help women of all ages become independent. She knew that the foundation of independence is financial literacy. She wanted to put together a course on personal finance for women but there was much for her to learn and she needed a structure for development.

Starting with market research, she sent women between the ages of 18 – 65 to an online survey and verified the demand for a women’s class on the basics of financial literacy.

In order to become independent, women needed a thorough understanding of personal finance basics. Anita wanted her students to walk away with a solid foundation that would allow them to make decisions about their money with confidence.

She had to allot enough time for these women to be comfortable with strategic thinking about their personal finances. Extended thinking might have to wait for the continuing class but strategic thinking would enable these women to make their own decisions about their own personal finances.

How to Deliver a Worldwide Course on Women and Personal Finance

Since Anita wanted to offer a course on women and personal finance worldwide, the best way to deliver the material was thru live online webinars and a closed Facebook group to enable class interaction. Weekly webinars would maintain the curriculum timeline while allowing the students to go at their own pace throughout the week. It would also offer achievement-based progression so that ambitious students could move ahead at their own pace.

Considering what subjects to teach, Anita thought about her intended audience and the goal she wanted to reach. In order to give women the financial foundation they would need to survive, the topics of savings, budgeting and debt would be the main focus. She would also add an interesting twist to these basics by providing a subtext of financial psychology.

The planned timeline would allow all three topics to be understood at the level of strategic thinking and the subtext would help them stay interested.

Deciding on a Curriculum for a Course on Women and Personal Finance

Anita wanted these women to become independent, so she wanted a curriculum to encourage that. It needed the flexibility to allow students to go at their own pace and challenging enough to keep them pushing themselves. A modular design would allow them to venture outside of the curriculum to study topics of personal interest. Of course, meeting the formal educational standards of teaching personal finance was also necessary and would add credibility to the course.

Anita did not have any teaching experience and although she planned on getting her financial education teaching certificate, she wanted an experienced, certified educator to teach her personal finance basics class. She knew that the experienced support would help her maximize learning while minimizing costly mistakes.

She found a friendly, down-to-earth woman who was an NFEC Certified Financial Education Instructor with years of experience teaching women about financial literacy.  She also brought with her personal finance tools to make the class more engaging.

Results of Anita’s Class on Personal Finance for Women

Of the 87 women who registered for the program, 79 finished successfully. With a completion rate of over 90%, Anita’s first was a success. The graduates also showed a strong interest in continuing their financial education.

Anita compiled the results and put them into a report that highlighted the undeniable success. She would use the report to help get funding and garner support for expansion.