Financial Resources for Social Workers

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Photo by: Ilya Chunin

We all know the impact that money has on the lives of the clients we work with and society as a whole.

And yet, we aren’t given much guidance in our social work programs regarding how to manage our student loan payments… how to manage living on low salaries.. how to unionize (as it relates to and benefits our salary), how to negotiate salary, and advocate for higher wages within the organization in which we work… or even how to build a business.

Some may think this knowledge is not really the responsibility of our school. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not.

Minimally, I think financial self-care should be discussed as a core part of our programs. We talk about self-care, so why aren’t we including our finances in this discussion?

There is so much information out there, where should you start?

I remember thinking I knew what I was doing with my money, but somehow I was still overspending and in credit card debt.

Or, I remember knowing that I needed to invest and deciding on some arbitrary number (~$70/mo) to have transferred into my retirement account, but not knowing really what my account balance would look like when it was time for me to actually retire.

I didn’t know what I was doing because no one talks about this stuff!

I felt so overwhelmed when I started learning about personal finance, who do I listen to? Where do I start?

I was watching TikTok videos, then googling stuff, reading articles, I bought a course… I was just in a constant state of searching.

I do wish I could have found a resource that had the links to all the books, articles, blogs, and podcasts, all in one place. Just to help me get going in the right direction with my money!

I’m a social worker and we social workers loooove a resource list.

So, I will attempt to build in this post, what I wish I had.

Here are links to all the personal finance resources that have helped me get where I am now (i.e. getting a handle on my budgeting, paying off some major debt last year, and, investing).

I will update this periodically when I come across new, awesome resources! Enjoy!!

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The List of Financial Resources for Social Workers

Financial wellness

• A Guide to Practicing Financial Wellness, Ellevest
• Financial Self-Care for Social Workers, Social Work to Wealth

Increasing your income

Articles

• Side Hustles for Social Workers: The Ultimate List, Social Work to Wealth
• 11 Steps to Starting a Private Practice as a Social Worker, Social Work to Wealth

Courses

• The Ultimate Side Hustle Starter Kit, Jannese Torres at Yo Quiero Dinero

Budgeting

Articles

• How to Choose the Right Budget System: 4 Methods to Consider, Nerd Wallet
• Digital Envelope Budgeting System: Why I Love It, Social Work to Wealth
• You Don’t Need A Budget — How to Manage Your Money With Ease and Joy, Healthy Rich
• Conscious Spending Plan: How to Budget by Looking Into the Future, Ramit Sethi

Courses

• Budgeting Basics for Women, Gigi The First Gen Mentor
• Budget Bootcamp, Jamila Souffrant from Journey To Launch

Debt

• Demolish Your Debt Resource Guide, Debt Free Gonne Be
• Debt Avalanche vs. Debt Snowball: What’s the Difference?, Investopedia

Credit

Articles

• Credit: What It Is and How It Works, Investopedia

Apps/Sites

• Annual Credit Report, Get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months authorized by law
• Credit Karma, track your credit scores and credit accounts for free. One of my favorite apps!

Educators

• The Money Plug, Markia Brown

Student loans

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, Studentaid.gov
• PSLF quick reference guide, Debt Free Gonna Be
• You Don’t Have to Pay Your Student Loans If You Don’t Want To, Healthy Rich

Investing

Articles

• Investing for beginners: 5 tips before you start, Fernanda at Relentless Latina
• Low-cost index funds are a great option for beginners vs. buying individual stocks
• Investing For Beginners Brokerage Account vs. IRA, Investopedia
• How Much Should I Contribute To My 401(k) in My 30s?, Social Work To Wealth

Courses

• Master the Market 101: Investing for Beginners, Jannese Torres at Yo Quiero Dinero
• Slay The Stock Market Course, Delyanne the Money Coach
• Investing for First-Gen Wealth Builders, Gigi The First Gen Mentor

Apps

• Treasury Investing App, Her First 100k

PDFs

• Beginner’s Investing Checklist, Social Work to Wealth

Homebuying programs

• Homes for Heroes

Personal finance books

• Finance for the People: Getting a Grip on Your Finances by Paco De Leon
• Get Good With Money by Tiffany Aliche, aka The Budgetnista
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works by Ramit Sethi

Personal finance podcasts

• Yo Quireo Dinero: Personal Finance for Latinas, Jannese Torres
• Diversifying, Delyanne the Money Coach with CNN
• Queer Money, David Auten and John Schneider
• Financial Feminist, Her First $100k

Increasing your income

Articles

• Side Hustles for Social Workers: The Ultimate List, Social Work to Wealth

Courses

• The Ultimate Side Hustle Starter Kit, Jannese Torres at Yo Quiero Dinero

Financial independence

Articles

• The Financial Independence Movement is for Social Workers, Too, Social Work to Wealth

Courses

• Map Your Way To Financial Independence, Jamila Souffrant from Journey To Launch
• Master the Market 102: Investing for Financial Independence, Jannese Torres at Yo Quiero Dinero

Is there a resource you think should be added? Let me know in the comments below!