Major-purchase path · 8 lessons · 48 questions

First-time owner

Prepare for a car or home using full-cost comparisons, reserves, insurance, credit, financing disclosures, and a downside plan.

Who it serves

People considering their first vehicle, home purchase, or other financed asset.

What you build

A written affordability range and purchase file based on total cost rather than sales pressure.

Your lesson sequence

  1. 1Build your money map: net worth, cash flow, and goalsLearn the three numbers that reveal where your money stands: net worth, monthly cash flow, and the monthly amount required for each goal.14 min →
  2. 2Build an emergency fund without waiting to feel richUse a staged emergency-fund strategy, keep short-term money protected, and separate true emergencies from predictable expenses.13 min →
  3. 3Understand credit scores, utilization, and credit buildingLearn what credit-scoring models commonly evaluate, how reported balances affect utilization, and how to build history without gimmicks.16 min →
  4. 4See the true cost of debt and build a payoff planCompare APR, fees, term, and total repayment; then choose a debt-payoff strategy that protects required payments and survives real life.17 min →
  5. 5Compare renting, homeownership, and mortgage costs honestlyCompare total housing costs, estimate affordability beyond the mortgage payment, shop for financing, and use independent housing counseling.18 min →
  6. 6Use insurance to protect the wealth you are buildingLearn which losses should be absorbed with savings, transferred through insurance, or reduced through safer systems—and how deductibles, limits, exclusions, and beneficiaries change protection.22 min →
  7. 7Buy and finance a vehicle by total costSet an all-in vehicle budget, separate the purchase from the financing, compare written offers, recognize add-ons, and avoid a low payment that hides a high total cost.22 min →
  8. 8Practice lawful tax planning, recordkeeping, and professional reviewSeparate planning from evasion, build a year-round tax file, understand marginal decisions, verify preparers, and ask better questions before transactions become irreversible.28 min →
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