There are many different free finance resources online. They can be a good way to learn some basic concepts, practice your skills, or troubleshoot a problem. If you just want to pick up a few skills for your own personal use, free resources are probably sufficient, however, if you want to work in finance professionally, free resources are unlikely to be enough. Instead, you’ll probably want to enroll in a paid, live finance class where you can follow a comprehensive curriculum under the guidance of an expert.
What Free Resources Are Available for Learning Finance?
There is no shortage of free resources for anyone looking to learn financial skills, particularly if you are willing to take advantage of sites like YouTube or other free training providers. For example, Noble Desktop offers a free Stock Market Investing seminar for students looking to learn the basics of personal investment and an Excel Tips and Tricks seminar that is suited for beginners. These courses are excellent introductions to the basics of finance and are built with first-time learners in mind, so students can take advantage of these classes regardless of the path that they choose to take with their further training. In addition, services like MasterClass, Coursera, and Udemy offer a limited number of free courses for learning all sorts of financial and investing skills. These courses give students the opportunity to learn at their own pace and to decide the order and focus of their lessons.
You can also find free resources through professional networks and publications. In an article titled “You need to manage your finances better. What's the best way to stay up-to-date with the latest trends?” LinkedIn suggests some good types of professional resources. It says, “You can subscribe to newsletters, podcasts, blogs, magazines, or books that cover topics relevant to your financial goals and interests. You can also use social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn, or Reddit, to follow experts, influencers, or communities that share insights and opinions on finance.” You’ll also find that there are many experts willing to share their expertise online through various chat forums. You can visit these forums and look for relevant information, or you can even post a specific question.
How to Make Use of Free Finance Resources
Free finance resources can be even more useful if you know how to get the most out of them. One way in which these resources are particularly useful is that they allow you to get a feel for this field without investing a lot of time and money. You can use free resources to gain a better understanding of what financial professionals do, and how they do it, and you may even be able to learn some fundamental skills and start working on some basic projects. By doing this, you can decide whether this field is for you before committing hundreds of dollars to a formal class.
You can also use free resources after you’ve started taking a class. They can provide an outlet for you to practice your new skills. Practice is an essential part of learning finance because it helps you master the concepts that you’ve learned and use them in real-world situations. Most finance professionals say that they have become good at what they do by devoting a lot of time to practicing their skills. Another way to use free resources is for troubleshooting. Even after taking a paid class, you’re likely to find that you often have questions. There are a variety of free tutorials and forums where you can get answers to many of your finance-related questions.
Limitations of Free Resources
There are some drawbacks to free resources. As with almost all skills that you might learn, trying to learn finance with free resources will take longer and be less focused than guided training. If you run into problems or challenges, like not understanding something or coming to a roadblock on a difficult concept, you won’t have anyone to turn to, which can make pressing on more challenging. You will also have no one overseeing your work, which can make it tough for people without a lot of self-motivation to continue their training when it becomes more challenging. These are very solvable problems, but they are things to consider when you are deciding whether or not self-teaching is a good route for you to take.
Additionally, free resources can only take you so far on the road to professional financial training. While you can self-teach yourself the basics of personal finances and even investing, you are likely to find yourself unable to learn more complex skills and concepts by yourself. Because you won’t have a live instructor to give you feedback on your progress, you may also unintentionally learn incorrect concepts and theories, or develop bad habits, which will impede your future progress.
Another problem with free resources is that the world of finance is ever-changing and it can be difficult to gauge how up-to-date any given lesson is and whether or not it has been modified to account for changes in technology and best practices. In addition, in the realm of finance and investing in particular, it can be difficult to gauge how legitimate and authoritative a given resource is. While this won’t be a problem with services like Noble Desktop or MasterClass, you will want to be careful when looking for finance and investing resources in places like YouTube, because while there are a number of reputable and great sources to draw from on those platforms, there are also amateur content producers and outright scams.
What to Do After Utilizing Free Finance Resources
Using free resources can be helpful, but one of the best ways to learn finance is to enroll in a course with a live instructor who can guide you through the ins and outs of learning this topic. Live classes will provide students with the structure and guidance they are looking for to ensure that they stay on track and succeed at their long-term finance training goals. In addition to structure, learning with a live instructor will also give you a chance to get focused feedback on your work and support when you run into problems with the lessons. This added support might not seem like the most impactful aspect of learning these skills, but it will help to ensure that you don’t fall behind or stop with your training because you run into significant issues.
In addition, learning with a live instructor is an excellent way to be sure that you’re gaining an understanding of all of the principles and tools that finance professionals use. Most finance instructors have years of experience both in teaching and in the field of finance. Not only can they help you gain a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of finance, but they can also share tips and tricks that could take you years to figure out by yourself.
Another benefit of taking a live class is that you’ll learn as part of a group. This can be beneficial in a number of ways. One is that it enhances the learning process because you’ll be exposed to a range of different perspectives and ways of working; many students say that they gain a deeper understanding of finance concepts when they discuss them and work through exercises as a group. In some cases, you might ask peers for help or you might be the one offering help, both of which can enhance the learning process further. Finally, being part of a group of people with similar professional goals can give you access to networking relationships that can be valuable throughout your professional career.
Learn Finance with Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop is based in New York City and offers a number of different finance classes, including both short courses that can help you quickly master the basics, and longer, more comprehensive programs, where you can develop a strong finance skill set. Its classes can be taken in-person at its Manhattan facility or in a live online format. Noble Desktop is licensed by the New York State Education Department. All courses include the option of a free retake within one year.
- One popular Noble Desktop option is the “MBA” Business Certificate. This course is an “MBA-style” program and it includes some of the skills taught in MBA programs. In this class, you’ll learn tools and strategies for finance, project management, marketing, and data analysis. You’ll also learn about the practical applications of generative AI and will get access to a self-paced class that covers the basics of business insurance, employment law, and business law. This class includes the option to take electives that match your specific area of interest. Finally, it comes with eight one-on-one mentoring sessions.
- Another option is the Financial Modeling Bootcamp. This course covers finance and accounting concepts, and you’ll build a comprehensive discounted cash flow model in Excel that is based on a real company. You will also learn about corporate finance and you’ll gain advanced Excel skills. Students who want to take this class should have intermediate-level proficiency in Excel.
- Noble Desktop also offers a Financial Analyst Training Program. This class covers core Excel skills, in addition to Excel skills used in financial modeling. You’ll also learn about financial modeling, and build a 3-statement financial model. In addition, you’ll learn about reviewing company presentations, financial reports, and earnings releases so that you can find model drivers and assumptions. Finally, the course covers accounting, corporate finance, and valuation.
- One of Noble Desktop’s newest offerings is the Chat GTP & AI for Business Bootcamp. This course is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to utilize AI in your daily business tasks. You’ll learn how to create effective prompts, manage conversations, and use advanced features like memory settings. You’ll also learn about the ethical considerations of AI. In addition, the course focuses on ways to use AI for task management, communication, and project planning. You’ll learn about automating repetitive tasks, optimizing schedules, and improving collaboration and administrative workflows.
Noble also offers a variety of short Excel classes: Excel Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 1 is focused on getting familiar with the interface, entering data, using essential formulas and functions, and creating charts. You’ll also learn how to format and print. Level 2 covers splitting and joining text, adding data validation, named ranges, database functions, adding logical statements, and using Pivot Tables. In addition, you’ll learn to use statistical functions and create advanced combo charts. In Level 3, instructors cover advanced concepts including cell locking, auditing, hotkeys, formatting for calculating dates, advanced functions, advanced analytical tools, Pivot Charts, and advanced database functions