How to get a $1 million financial education that costs next to nothing

Call me a tightwad, but I like really good things that are free. If you do too, you’re in the right place.

Today I’m going to recommend three financial books you can get free. Each one is worth a lot if you take it seriously and act on it.

I’ll also point you to video lectures for young people, parents and teachers, plus excellent resources for adults interested in retiring early.

Finally, I’ll show you how to tap into high-quality financial education from the U.S. government and even a Yale professor — all at no cost.

Free Books

If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William Bernstein is a must-read. Bernstein is a retired neurologist and investment adviser whose The Four Pillars of Investing has been one of the most recommended investment books for two decades.

If You Can outlines an investment plan simple enough for a child to understand, using just three mutual funds. Bernstein believes this approach is likely to outperform 90% of financial professionals over the long run. He also identifies five major hurdles facing young investors and provides a thoughtful reading list.

Price: Free.

Financial Fysics by Don McDonald is another excellent free book, available in the Apple Books store. It’s packed with common sense and plain-spoken wisdom.

One of McDonald’s most memorable observations is that there are only three ways to make money: luck, hard work and crime. He challenges outdated lessons still taught in some schools and encourages readers to invest “like grown-ups.”

• Investing is a gamble
• It’s all about individual stocks
• Winning or losing happens quickly
• No real knowledge is required

Price: Free.

We’re Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement was completed late last year by Paul Merriman and Richard Buck. This book outlines a dozen million-dollar decisions every investor makes and offers a simple two-fund solution designed to get those decisions right.

Although it’s aimed primarily at investors in their 20s and 30s, its “two funds for life” approach can strengthen portfolios at any age.

Price: Free.

Get an Education

At www.coursera.org, you’ll find more than 1,700 free courses from institutions such as Stanford, Duke, Yale, the University of Chicago and many others.

One standout is Financial Markets, taught by Yale professor Robert Shiller. The course focuses on behavioral economics and includes 127 videos, readings and quizzes across seven weekly modules.

Price: Free.

For younger students, Scott Alan Turner offers engaging and entertaining video courses on money basics. One popular three-hour course is designed for students in grades 3 through 6 and covers saving, spending, emergencies, jobs and careers.

Price: Free.

For those pursuing early financial independence, the ChooseFi International Foundation offers a free online course called Financial Independence 101. At www.fiology.com, you can also sign up for a free 52-lesson course, “Your Guide to Financial Independence,” complete with a workbook.

Price: Free.

The U.S. government’s site www.investor.gov offers an impressive collection of tools and educational materials. You can check advisers, understand fees and scams, calculate required minimum distributions, explore 529 plans and much more.

Price: “Free” (you already paid for it).

Another outstanding resource is www.ngpf.org, created to help teachers educate young people about money and investing. The organization’s goal is to make personal finance a required high-school subject nationwide by 2030.

Price: Free.

All these resources are free, but they do require an investment of time. Fortunately, the return on a solid financial education can be enormous.

As a bonus, readers who’ve made it this far can also access a free recording of a talk I gave to college students at Western Washington University covering the 12 million-dollar decisions discussed in one of the books above.

Richard Buck contributed to this article.

Paul Merriman and Richard Buck are the authors of We’re Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways To Supercharge Your Retirement.