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Personal Finance: Personal Finance

Guide to personal finance topics, including debt, credit, ID theft, investing and more.

Write a Will Workshops, Library Services & Other Resources

Write a Will Workshop Resources

Access this document for information from a library event called, the Write a Will Workshop for 2019 Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning Basics.  

This 2021 Write a Will Presentation document features helpful information on writing a will.  

This resource on an Estate Planning Glossary can be helpful for understanding terms used in wills and certain legal documents.  

Online Personal Finance Lesson

Access Universal Class for continuing education classes.  With your library card, you can take up to 5 classes at a time.  Register now to sign-up - you can begin at any time to take classes such as Budgeting and Saving 101, Credit Report and Repair, Retirement Planning 101, Personal Finance 101: How to Manage Your Money, and many more!  To begin, select the link above, create an account, browse the "Finance" category, and sign-up for a class.

Library Resources

Use Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly Reference USA) for a comprehensive business directory.  Use it to search for banks, certified financial planners, or other finance professionals near you.  

See our Legal Forms database for thousands of Colorado-specific and national legal forms spanning a variety of common concerns, such as bankruptcy, divorce, employment, landlord tenant, living wills, power of attorney, taxes, and more.

Access the Business Research Guide if you are an entrepreneurs and small business.

Use the Legal Research Guide to gather information on financial hardships, legal information, and resources such as books and forms on bankruptcy and foreclosure.

Magazines

Keep up to date on money topics with these magazines, which can be checked out from the library, with the exception of the most current issue: Economist, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Kiplinger's Retirement Report, and the Wall Street Journal.  

Book a Librarian

Mesa County Libraries offers appointment with Reference Librarians for help with business, genealogy, health, local history, computer, book, and author questions.  Book an individualized 30 minute appointment by filling out our Book a Librarian form.  

Basic Banking, Money Education, and Budgeting Websites

Free Money Tutorials are available through the Goodwill Community Foundation.  They are well-organized, easy-to-use, self-paced online tutorials covering subjects like "Money Basics" or "Pay Bills".

The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy website was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to help Americans understand their personal finances through every stage of life.

Access Bankrate for free rate information on over 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans, and online banking fees.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) website provides resources to educate and protect consumers about banks, internet banking, loans, mortgages, and fraud protection.

Visit Help with My Bank, a website created by the US Department of the Treasury for information about fair consumer treatment and answers to questions on credit cards, mortgages, and loans.

CNN offers the website, Money Essentials, which provides 23 lessons in a step-by-step guide to gaining control of your financial life.

MyMoney is the U.S. government's website dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education.  It is designed to help you make smart money decisions.

The National Endowment for Financial Education provides the Smart About Money website, with practical help and resources for making sound financial choices.

See the Better Money Habits website for a free service that enables everyone to understand finances through objective and unbiased videos and tools.  The site is part of a partnership between the Khan Academy and Bank of America.

Books

eBooks

eBooks are electronic books.  You can download eBooks through the library's wesbite. Visit our downloadable media page to learn more about the process.  You can read eBooks on a variety of devices - you can read them off the computer, on a tablet (like iPad), an iPhone, on a smartphone (with Android), and of course, on most eReaders.  Take books with you wherever you go!