Personal Finance 101

By Kara McGuire, Star Tribune

Last update: August 30, 2007 - 7:54 PM

Many colleges are stepping up with financial seminars. But for students who find themselves at a college without such a perk, there's always the Web. Here are some sites:

• A free online course from the University of California, Irvine (ocw.uci.edu/courses/AR0102092/) covers topics such as creating a net worth statement and insuring yourself, but curiously omits credit.

• Whatsmyscore.org, now run by Visa but created by the Saint Paul Foundation, will give you the skinny on credit.

• TedDinero.com (www.mvelopes .com/teddinero) is a place to for budgeting help and for laughs. He's a new "superhero" created by a financial software company. The dude really shouldn't be wearing Spandex, but his free five-part budgeting e-course is worth a look.

To see an example of what colleges are giving to students thanks to a new financial education requirement, here's MnSCU's financial education brochure: www.startribune.com/a3265.

KARA MCGUIRE

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