CGI Finance
Education
Courses and guides that teach the strategy behind the trades — not just the trades.
Start Here
What's your biggest money challenge right now?
Pick where you are today. We'll point you to the right lesson, a free calculator, and the tool that puts it into action.
Get Better With Money
Budgeting, spending, net worth, and the financial basics everyone should know.
Explore Money BasicsGet Out of Debt
Payoff strategies, credit scores, and a clear plan to become debt-free.
Explore Debt PayoffPrepare for Retirement
401(k)s, IRAs, employer matching, and retirement planning that actually makes sense.
Explore RetirementStart Investing
Learn the fundamentals before putting your money to work.
Learn InvestingMake a Big Decision
A framework for the big money questions life throws at you — mortgage vs. invest, lease vs. buy, and more.
Explore Big DecisionsBuild Long-Term Wealth
Multiple income streams, real estate, protection, and the habits that compound over time.
Explore Wealth BuildingThe Caveda Financial Roadmap
Seven steps from financial confusion to lasting wealth.
You don't have to do everything at once. Follow the steps in order — each one has something to learn, a free calculator, and a tool to put it into action.
Create a free account to save your progress through the roadmap.
Create free account- Step 1
Understand your money
Get an honest picture: what you earn, what you owe, and your true net worth.
Put it to work
- Step 2
Build your foundation
Set up an emergency fund and simple systems so one surprise doesn't undo your progress.
- Step 3
Eliminate bad debt
Attack high-interest debt with a real plan and a clear debt-free date.
Calculate
Put it to work
- Step 4
Capture free money
Grab every dollar of employer match and tax advantage before anything else.
Calculate
Put it to work
- Step 5
Start investing
Learn how investing actually works and put money to work consistently.
- Step 6
Build wealth
Grow across retirement accounts, the market, and real estate — with intention.
- Step 7
Protect your wealth
Insurance, beneficiaries, and estate basics so what you build actually lasts.
Calculate
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Put it to work
Explore by topic
Six areas of your financial life.
Every guide we publish lives in one of these six areas. Start wherever your questions are loudest.
Money Organization
Understand and organize where your money actually goes.
Financial Basics
How to calculate your net worth
One number that gives you an honest snapshot of where your finances actually stand.
Read Article→Saving
How much should I have in an emergency fund?
A common starting rule of thumb, and the factors that might mean you need more — or less.
Read Article→Saving
Ways to save more money without completely changing your lifestyle
Small, practical adjustments that add up without requiring a complete overhaul.
Read Article→Debt
Understand what you owe and build a plan to become debt-free.
Retirement & 401(k)
Make sense of the accounts most people have but few understand.
Investing
The fundamentals of putting your money to work — without gambling.
Investing
What is compound growth?
The concept behind why starting early matters more than almost anything else.
Read Article→Investing
Index funds vs. ETFs
Two wrappers around nearly the same idea — the honest difference, and why the fee matters more.
Read Article→Investing
10 things to understand before you buy any investment
A plain checklist for sizing up any stock or fund — so you're investing on purpose, not on a tip.
Read Article→Investing
Investing vs. speculation vs. gambling
Three things that look alike and behave completely differently. Knowing which one you're doing changes everything.
Read Article→Major Decisions
How to think through the big money questions life throws at you.
Strategy
The order to invest your money
A framework that puts guaranteed and tax-free returns first, so limited dollars go furthest.
Read Article→Decisions
How to think through a big money decision
A framework for the big money questions everyone eventually faces — mortgage vs. invest, lease vs. buy, and more.
Read Article→Building Wealth
Tie it all together into lasting, protected wealth.
Financial Basics
A plain-English financial library.
Short lessons — about five minutes each — on the money ideas everyone is expected to know but no one really teaches. No jargon, no sales pitch.