Educational
Programs

Financial Education for All

We are dedicated to improving financial readiness for people in all community sectors and all career and life stages by providing the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed, intelligent financial decisions. We offer a wide range of curricula on numerous financial topics that support various educational, business, social service, civic, and faith-based organizations across the country.

We have more than 60 financial education presentations that vary in duration and format. All content can be tailored to meet your organization’s specific needs. Let us know how we can help your organization provide great financial education!

In addition to educational presentations, this page also includes web-based training courses and financial calculators. Except for our FERS and CSRS Retirement Benefits Program, all educational content, resources, and tools are available at no charge!

Our FERS and CSRS Retirement Benefits Program are unique and available only to federal agencies seeking to provide mandated training to their employees. More information about this program is available at the bottom of this page.

General Financial Education Presentations

We offer a comprehensive library of presentations on numerous topics suitable for all community sectors, including federal civilian employees. Our library of presentations is customizable. They can be used for individual briefings or combined for a more comprehensive program to address the needs of a particular audience.

Our presentations and seminars can either be conducted by one of our volunteer speakers, or we can train individuals from an organization to do them.

• General Financial Presentations and Seminars List
• Presentation Request Form

Request More Information About Our Presentations

Our financial readiness presentations and programs for service members and their families cover topics specific to military families, as well as a variety of general personal finance principles. We can also create more comprehensive programs that educate service members on several financial principles and sound practices. Our presentations and seminars can either be conducted by one of our volunteer speakers or train individuals from a military unit or organization to do them. Below is a list of presentations available and several free financial education guides for the military community.

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Interested in becoming a Volunteer Speaker

Get Involved

Request Military Financial Education Presentations

If you are interested in having FCEF provide a presentation, please fill out the form below and we will be in touch.

Money Matters Online

Money Matters is a web-based course consisting of modules on Accounts, Checkbook, Credit, Loans, Rights & Responsibilities, Buying, Stocks & Investments, Retirement, Insurance, Entrepreneur, Bankruptcy, and Giving. Each module contains pre- and post-module exams, vocabulary, and other exercises. Money Matters is self-paced and provides feedback as various tests and exercises are completed.
The curriculum includes a pre- and post-course comprehensive exam and an instructor interface that allows instructors to add and delete students to the program and monitor their progress and test results. This program is ideal for high school students, young adults, and adults.

Currently, we continue to address technical issues with our Money Matters Online curriculum which have proven more complex than originally estimated.  We are apologize for this inconvenience; rest assured, we understand and appreciate the value of the information in this program and are striving to make it available again as quickly as possible. Please monitor this site for updates on the availability date. The program is projected to be back online by September 12, 2022.

• Instructor Enrollment Request
• Money Matters Instructor Manual
• Money Matters Student Manual

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Basic$4ALL

Parents, looking for an educational activity for your children while they’re home?

Would you like to help them learn about basic finances? These FCEF resources are available free of charge!

Basic$4ALL was created by FCEF to help people learn a few basics about personal finance. The information is provided in five modules: Spending Plans, Basic Banking and Accounts, Credit, Debt and Loans, and Investing.

The object is to save enough money in your “savings account” to meet your goal: a car, a vacation, college, a house, or retirement. There’s no real money involved in this game; you play for knowledge. Invite your friends to play and see who is the smartest when it comes to saving! It’s designed for high school-age students and young adults, but anyone can play! Play online at Basic$4ALL

Basic$4all Course

La Salud De Mi Dinero

First Command Educational Foundation, in partnership with Unity One Credit Union, developed a Spanish-language program, La Salud de mi Dinero (The Health of My Money), teach financial readiness topics to the Hispanic community in the United States. FCEF worked with participants to provide an educational program tailored to their financial needs. Curriculum topics include:

• Credit Unions
• Spending Plans
• Investing
• Credit
• Buying a House
• Insurance
Each course is presented by a facilitator and consists of the following components:

• Pre-Assessment & Warm-Up Activity
• Core Content Presentation
• Personal Learning Practice
• Small Group Learning Activity
• Post-Assessment & Wrap-Up Activity

Contact Us

FERS and CSRS Employee Retirement Seminars

We contract directly with federal agencies to provide federally mandated training on FERS and CSRS retirement benefits. Our in-person and virtual seminars include discussion and training on annuity and survivor benefits, Voluntary Contribution Program, Thrift Savings Plan, federal employee health benefits, Social Security, Federal Employee Group Life Insurance, long-term care insurance, and a brief overview of financial planning. Our professional speakers provide a full range of seminars tailored to early- and mid-career and pre-retirement federal employees, as well as to Special Provisions employees such as law enforcement personnel, firefighters, and air traffic controllers.

As a 501(c)(3) public non-profit charity, we do not endorse any commercial supplier, product, or service or promote the services of any specific financial institution.

We are pleased to offer the following presentations in this program.

CSRS Pre-Retirement 1 or 2 day
FERS Pre-Retirement 1 or 2 day
FERS Early-Career Retirement 1 or 2 day
FERS Mid-Career Retirement 1 or 2 day
Thrift Savings Plan with Financial Planning for the Federal Employee 1 day
Combined FERS and CSRS Pre-Retirement 1 or 2 day

Contact
Descriptions
Pricing
FERS Employee Benefits Guide Sample

FERS & CSRS Seminar Testimonials

Great Presenter and Presentation was spot on. Thank you.

– Almando G.

Outstanding webinar. I’m glad I have attended. thank you…This was excellent. I should’ve done this earlier in my career. thank you again…

– Arthur V.

Mr. Paul did an excellent job. He was very knowledgeable and the info was very applicable. This seminar answered many of my questions, We could have used another 4 hour session. Great program.

– Benjamin

Great seminar. Instructor well informed and provided it at a good pace with full coverage.

– Bryan C.

Ed did a terrific job

– Charles

thank you so much! favorite suggestion is to find an advisor on federal bebfits. a lot of info to take in and digest.. thanks for the cautions too! thank you Steve. loved the steps as retirement approaches.

– Crystal

Excellently presented, easy to digest and expert presenter

– Daniel

Phenomenal job goes to all help put together PPS and the briefer. Thanks a million!!!!

– Deborah

Very well done even in webinar format.

– Doug

an excellent product. I really wish I could have attended this 5 years ago to help me plan.

– Eric

Excellent speaker. Awesome job!

– Eric W.

The presenter was very very good! Highly recommend him again to anyone needing the training

– Gayle

Enjoyed the instructor Ed Noble– pleasant voice and excellent speaker.

– Jaelyn S.

Very well done presentation. Presenter was very knowledgeable and was a good communicator.

– James

very good information to know and consider upon retirement time, Thanks for the time taken to enlighten people on their options and looking out for our future

– John

Good seminar. I will enroll again in a couple of years.

– Kerwin

Steve Morrow did a super job presenting virtually. Presenting with no audience feedback is hard, but he managed to keep us engaged. Important information that each retiree needs to understand. Thank you for finding a method to continue to provide this information in todays challenging environment

– Kurt

It felt this helped me understand more about the FERS system and retirement options. It also helped ensure me that my enrollment and options are set up to best suit me.

– Lea

Excellent speaker.

– Melissa

Steve is an excellent trainer and an asset to your company!

– Michael S.

The Instructor, Alex, did an outstanding job covering the many topics. He presented the material clearly, has excellent presentation demeanor, and is very knowledgeable and answered all questions professionally! It was a delight to have enrolled in and participated in this excellent training opportunity.

– Michael

Ed Noble did an outstanding job!

– Michael B.

Mr. Noble was excellent.

– Nathan

Great Instructor, spoke well for participants understanding of the content, knowledge is seen in the ability to talk to the material

– Pam

Steve was very knowledgeable and a great instructor. Thank you.

– Patricia P.

The instructor is very knowledgeable and has been in our situation before. It’s easy to relate to him.

– Paul D.

Mr. Morrow did a very good job speaking as well as answering questions very thoroughly

– Peter

Ed is great! Thank you very much!

– Rainer D.

Great presenter & presentation and very informative

– Randy

Wish I had done this 3 years ago. I am retiring in 2 years.

– Reva

Very well done and well presented. Steve Morrow did a wonderful job

– Richard

Very good job, enjoyed it. Hope I can put it all to good use.

– Rick

The trainer was very knowledgeable with the material being presented. I appreciate that it was made available during our local time.

– Rose Marie M.

Great instructor! Great job. Well worth the time. Thank you!

– Sally

This instructor was very interesting and great! I especially loved his real world examples and helping us visualize the retirement process. At a relatively young 38 years old, this was very eye opening. I had to start thinking about several things that I hadn’t pondered much before. Thank you!

– Scott C.

Great seminar! Will recommend to all my coworkers.

– Stephanie L.

very valuable information regarding the transferring of funds between accounts, many insights that were very enlightening and helpful.

– Tamara S.

Ed was a Great Host. I would recommend that all new employees sign up for the class.

– Thomas M.

Ed is an outstanding presenter. Provided a very even and understandable flow to provide a great deal of information in 2 days. It would have been nice to have this discussion when I was 25 years old.

– Thomas Z.

Steve was a great facilitator and did a great job with the virtual learning.

– Tony

The speaker is excellent. Everything is well prepared too.

– Tran L.

Very Informative and well executed presentation. Great job Steve and Thank you very much.

– Victor D.

Great info and very details. Thank you much!

– Vincent T.

General Financial Education Guides

Budget Basics

Understanding Credit

Managing Personal Debt

Personal Loans

Money Behaviors

Investing Fundamentals

Planning for Retirement

Life Insurance

Developing a Financial Plan

Financial Tools and Calculators

Our easy-to-use online calculators to help you solve some common financial problems without storing any of your personal information. If you find these calculators helpful, be sure to bookmark this page or suggest it as a link from your favorite home page or search engine.

Command Debt Terminator Debt

This tool can be used to develop a strategy to pay off debts. By entering a few pieces of information, you will receive a plan to eliminate your debt.
• Enter data about your current debts
• Enter information about additional monthly or lump sum funds you can apply to your debts
• Select the method you’d like used to calculate the debt schedule (order entered, lowest balance first, highest balance first, highest interest rate first)
• Click on the Calculate button to see the plan
(Note: you cannot save this plan online. You can, however, print it for future reference. If you want to revise the data, click the Back To Calculator button and make your changes.)

Calculator

* Please note these calculators are provided for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Always consult a financial advisor or counselor familiar with your personal situation before taking specific actions that could affect your economic well-being. First Command Educational Foundation does not endorse or favor any commercial supplier, product, or service.

Spending Plan Tool

The Spending Plan Toll is a spreadsheet you can use to organize your finances.  To use, download and click Open to open the document.  If you would like to save this spreadsheet to your computer click Save or Save As.

  • The spreadsheet has 5 pages: #1 Net Worth Worksheet, #2 Monthly Income Worksheet, #3 Monthly Savings and Expenses Worksheet, #4 Debt Worksheet, and #5 Goal Worksheet.
  • Enter your data in the appropriate area of the appropriate worksheet, and calculations will be automatically made to help to determine the amount you will need to reach your goals.
  • You are also given an area to make notes on ways to achieve your financial goals.
Download

* Please note these calculators are provided for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Always consult a financial advisor or counselor familiar with your personal situation before taking specific actions that could affect your economic well-being. First Command Educational Foundation does not endorse or favor any commercial supplier, product, or service.

Investment Risk Comfort Level Worksheet

Download and open the story.html file to answer the 10 questions on this form with your answers between 5 – strongly agree and 2 – strongly disagree, or download the PDF and add up your numbers, then check the table to help you determine your Investment Risk Comfort Level.

Download PDF

* Please note these calculators are provided for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Always consult a financial advisor or counselor familiar with your personal situation before taking specific actions that could affect your economic well-being. First Command Educational Foundation does not endorse or favor any commercial supplier, product, or service.