New: Roadmaps ordered paths through our cheat sheets and flashcards, so you always know what to study next.
Explore themSee what's new on GitHubFrom an untracked paycheck to a financial plan you run yourself.
A 10-step learning path. Follow it in order, or jump to what you need.
This path is for anyone who wants a clear, in-order plan for their money, whether you're starting from zero or tired of guessing what your next dollar should do. It runs about 5 weeks at a few hours a week. It does not cover business accounting, professional investment analysis, or filing your own tax return, those sit outside personal money management. By the end you can build a budget you'll actually keep, claim your full employer match while picking the right retirement accounts, and write your own order of operations for every dollar that comes in.
No prior experience needed. Start from zero.
Start here because a budget you actually use is the lever every later step depends on: see where your money goes today, and you're ready to claim step 4's employer match tomorrow.
This is where the order of operations clicks: expect to want to throw step 1's freed up cash at everything at once, then use this map to see which dollar goes first.
You can see exactly where every dollar goes and know which one to send first. Next up: protecting what you've built and putting the rest to work.
Finish this section to unlock.
+100 XP
Before you grow anything, protect it: one uncovered gap can undo years of the habits step 1 just built.
With step 3's protection in place, this is the free money you can't afford to skip: expect to feel behind at first, then realize every month of delay is match money gone for good.
Once your employer plan is claimed, the harder call is Roth or Traditional: this step turns step 4's match into a full retirement account stack, HSA included.
Accounts are just containers: this step is where you pick what actually goes inside them and practice sitting still when the market drops.
You're protected if something goes wrong, you're claiming your full employer match, and you've got a real portfolio running (a few minutes with step 2's due flashcards keeps that roadmap fresh while you build on it). Next up: pointing all of this at your actual goals.
Finish this section to unlock.
+100 XP
Retirement is not the only goal worth funding: point step 6's investing discipline at a down payment or a kid's tuition without derailing steps 4 and 5.
Take this if the budget from step 1 keeps drifting by the third week of the month: YNAB's four rules turn giving every dollar a job into a daily app habit instead of a spreadsheet you stop opening.
Take this if you want to stop working well before 65: it pushes the savings rate from step 6 much higher and shows what early access to retirement money actually looks like.
Everything before this was one piece at a time: write your own order of operations and revisit it every year as your income, family, and goals change.
You went from an untracked paycheck to a full plan you run yourself: protected, matched, invested, and aimed at real goals. That's the Personal Finance Foundations badge, earned by finishing what most people only mean to start.
Finish this section to unlock.
+100 XP
Finish every required step, at least 70% of them genuinely done (not skipped), to earn this badge and 500 XP.