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The best free personal finance and investing courses in Canada

Free Personal Finance Courses for Canadians

To help Canadians understand their options, we’ve rounded up the best free courses – both online and in-person – that deliver practical insight at an affordable price. These courses are designed to provide Canadians with the knowledge and skills they need to manage their finances effectively.

What to Look for in a Free Personal Finance Course

When comparing free personal finance courses, there are several factors to consider. Each course listed here must:

  • Be free for Canadians
  • Come from a quality educator
  • Offer lessons that teach Canadians something useful and relevant
  • Be reachable, whether online or in person at multiple locations

The Best All-Around Free Personal Finance Course

McGill Personal Finance Essentials

This course covers a wide range of topics related to personal finance, specifically for Canadians – all for free. Each of the eight lessons is taught by a different professor, which is not typical of most free personal finance courses. There are also bonus lessons on responsible investing and cryptocurrencies, as well as online multiple choice tests and exams.

The course includes:

  1. Budgeting and saving
  2. Your money: today and tomorrow
  3. Understanding Debt and Borrowing
  4. The art of investing
  5. Retirement planning
  6. The Realities of Real Estate
  7. Behavioral Financing

We recommend dedicating some time to the material on a regular basis to make it easier to pick up where you left off. Depending on your learning style, you might like the “learn at your own pace” format. This is not an advanced course, but you will receive a certificate of completion from McGill Personal Finance Essentials to add to your resume.

The Best Free Canadian Income Tax Course

The Government of Canada’s Learn About Your Taxes course

When it comes to learning about income tax, there is no better source than the Government of Canada. This free course on Canada.ca is ideal for anyone paying taxes for the first time, starting their first job, or wanting to better understand how income tax works. The course is organized as a mini-course with several lessons, each containing a handful of lessons. You’ll know exactly how much time you need to spend on each section, so you can easily divide up your study time.

The Best Free Debt Management Course in Canada

The Truth About Loans from the Credit Counseling Society

The first step to managing your debt is to learn about debt. The Credit Counseling Society is a non-profit debt counseling organization that helps Canadians create debt management plans. The Society’s on-demand financial education library continues to grow and currently includes over 25 lessons. Each lesson takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Topics include credit, credit scores, and credit reports.

In the credit course, you’ll learn how credit works in Canada, what credit scores and credit reports look like, and how you can access your own credit report for free. There’s also some myth-busting. Although you won’t receive a certificate of completion, you can retake these courses and access them anytime, on any device.

The Best Free Personal Finance Course for Young Canadians

Personal Finance by Desjardins: I’m in charge

Desjardins is the largest financial cooperative group in Canada, committed to supporting its members and making its customers feel financially empowered. Desjardins accredits more than 400 instructors to offer “objective and neutral workshops.” Each course is divided into a handful of modules, and users can easily switch between different modules to learn about topics that are important to them.

The current courses or paths include:

  1. Money in everyday life
  2. Finances and peace of mind
  3. Making my project a reality
  4. Decoding savings and investments
  5. Introduction to financial life

Each lesson lasts 20 minutes, and you can complete them in any order. There are 15 lessons in total, so if you complete each course, you will need five hours. This course is great for residents of Ontario and Quebec who want to learn alone or even as a group.

A Free Business 101 Course for Teens

The Bank of Canada Museum: You Are the Economy

The Bank of Canada Museum is located in Ottawa, at the heart of Canada’s central bank. In October 2024, this free course was launched for students in grades 7 to 12. The lesson plans and workshop activities were designed for educators without financial degrees working with teenagers. The course was created to demystify the Canadian economy and help make the central bank’s core functions more understandable to the public.

Conclusion

These free personal finance courses are designed to provide Canadians with the knowledge and skills they need to manage their finances effectively. Whether you’re looking to learn about budgeting, investing, or debt management, there’s a course on this list that can help. By taking advantage of these free resources, Canadians can take control of their financial lives and make informed decisions about their money.

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