FinancialFit provides robust, vetted content in an interface that is engaging and easy to navigate. But its focus on topics relevant to early to middle adulthood narrows its audience.
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FinanicalFit is an e-learning resource that provides vetted personal financial literacy information on a range of topics. With over 200 brief lessons presented through an engaging blend of narrative, video, other visuals, and interactive activities, FinancialFit can be easily navigated by users with a range of experience with digital learning tools.
FinancialFit stands out by providing accurate, engaging personal financial literacy information relevant to young adults and/or those in the earlier stages of their financial journey. It is likely to be of use in both public and academic libraries.
EBSCO introduced FinancialFit in February 2023 with the objective of “providing libraries, schools, colleges and other institutions with resources for patrons and students looking to improve their financial literacy.” According to EBSCO, the tool fills a gap by providing “unbiased financial information” to consumers at all stages of their personal finance journey and making the development of financial literacy more equitable (EBSCO Information Services, 2023). FinancialFit’s brief, straightforward lessons and other content help users make sound decisions that support their financial goals. The content is created by industry experts with the assumption that the end user has no preexisting financial knowledge. A Spanish translation feature, with content reviewed by Spanish-speaking subject-matter experts, is available for an additional cost.
At the time of this writing, there are 212 microlessons in the collection, with new content added regularly. The content is divided into five broad categories: Borrowing Money, Couples & Families, Making Money, The Basics, and The Big Expenses. The largest portion of material, 41 percent, falls in the category of The Big Expenses.
Lessons are further divided into 21 subcategories (for instance, within the category of Borrowing Money, there are lessons related to Building Credit, Choosing a Credit Card, Managing Credit Cards, and Managing Debt) and come in four types: Learn, Plan, Practice, and Watch. Nearly three-quarters of the lessons are in the Learn category, described as “a mix of narrative, images, videos, and interactives” (EBSCO Connect, 2024).
The lessons I sampled featured cartoon images and videos depicting characters of diverse races and genders. While EBSCO says the product is intended to “support each financial phase of a person’s journey,” many of the topics covered—such as building credit, buying a car, setting up bank accounts, etc.—appear to be most relevant to those in young to middle adulthood. FinancialFit includes a single lesson on investing—“How do 401(k)s Work”—and no lessons on topics related to later stages of personal finance, like planning for medical debt or elder care expenses or setting up an estate.
In addition to lessons, the resource includes videos, learning games, checklists, worksheets, and a glossary of financial terms. The Spanish translation add-on translates all content into Spanish, provides Spanish video captions, allows for keyword searching in Spanish, and more. Users can toggle between English and Spanish. Administrators can see the frequency of usage in English and Spanish to help them decide which language to set as the default.
EBSCO Connects provides 24-7 assistance for administrators. FinancialFit’s mobile-first user experience allows easy access on either an Android or iOS mobile device. The resource can also be accessed via desktop.
To access the full content of FinancialFit, users must register. Setting up an account also allows users to track their progress across lessons. While this is an EBSCO product, the interface differs substantially from that of a standard EBSCO research database. FinancialFit is exceedingly user friendly and intuitive to navigate, even for those who haven’t previously used an online learning tool. The brightly colored, inviting cartoon images (see Figure 3) are less likely to intimidate less advanced users than a typical database interface.
From the home page, users can select any of the six main content categories. Alternatively, a search bar at the top of each page allows users to search for topics. A help section includes a list of frequently asked questions and keyboard shortcuts (Figure 1).
Selecting a category takes users to a list of lessons sorted by subcategory, from which they can open lesson content by clicking “Launch" (Figure 2). Within each lesson, users can take notes in a notepad and see the percentage of the lesson they have completed. They can opt to finish a lesson later or, using buttons at the bottom of each microlesson, easily navigate to the previous or next page.
When watching a video, users can search for content within the video or open a transcript (Figure 3).
The EBSCO Information Services Accessibility Conformance Report, last updated on October 28, 2024, provides detailed information on the product’s accessibility. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 were met at Level A and Level AA, but not Level AAA. Section 508 standards were met, as were EN 301 549 Accessibility requirements for ICT (information and communications technology) products and services (EBSCO Connect, 2024). Additional information about EBSCO’s accessibility can be found at https://www.ebsco.com/technology/accessibility.
Purchase and contract provisions are outlined in the “EBSCO License Agreement: Learning Express,” a standard EBSCO contract. Authorized Users include those affiliated with or permitted to use the Licensee’s facilities, including registered or walk-in patrons, students, employees, etc., but excluding alumni. Remote access for patrons of the subscribing institution is permitted. MARC records and COUNTER compliant use statistics are available through the LearningExpress platform.
Pricing for libraries is based on several factors, including user population, existing subscriptions to EBSCO products, consortium agreements, etc. When asked to provide more specific details about pricing, an EBSCO representative declined, citing this variety of factors. EBSCO will provide a customized quote on request (K. Donnelly, personal communication, November 30, 2024 and January 29, 2024).
Institutions can authenticate via AuthToken, IP address, library card, or product key/access code. Individual users can authenticate using a username and password (K. Donnelly, personal communication, November 20, 2024).
There are surprisingly few subscription-based e-learning products dedicated to personal financial literacy. Two others are Business Skills Accel5 Collection and Personal Success Skills, both of which are produced by EBSCOLearning.
Business Skills Accel5 Collection offers videos and book summaries to “help individuals develop skills critical for success in work and life.” The collection contains 700 videos that are two to five minutes in length and 4,000 book summaries focused on business topics. While the database doesn’t cover personal finance, it addresses adjacent topics such as career management, problem solving, and time management.
Personal Success Skills is designed to “help individuals develop the core knowledge and skills that are essential to workplace success and personal fulfillment.” Its “Targeted Learning Centers” include interactive tutorials, journal articles, and ebooks covering topics like workplace success, organization and time management, personal finance skills, and media literacy skills. Personal finance topics include balancing credit and debt, money management and investing basics, insurance, and benefits and taxes, but there are only 44 resources available on these subjects. Of these, only 15 are tutorials, with the remainder being journal articles or ebooks (EBSCOLearning, 2024).
Several free online financial literacy resources have more comprehensive content than FinancialFit. Khan Academy offers a financial literacy course that is organized into 16 units focusing on various financial literacy topics, including an “Investments and Retirement” unit that will be appealing to those seeking information on financial planning. edX and Coursera both provide courses on financial literacy ranging from introductory to advanced, including content on investments, that can be audited at no cost, although users must pay a fee to receive a certificate of completion. These courses are offered by reputable partners, such as universities, organizations, and companies, for specific dates with self-paced learning.
As an e-learning product designed to provide financial literacy information applicable to a wide range of users and institution types, FinancialFit is singular. The interface is engaging, intuitive, and personalized. The content is relevant, accurate, and robust. The microlessons, the vast majority of which include some mixture of images, videos, text, and interactivity, are manageable, and the variety of formats unlikely to overwhelm users, even those with no former knowledge of personal finance topics. The Spanish translation option expands the product’s accessibility. Video playback options are user friendly, particularly the transcripts, closed captioning, and ability to search within a video.
There are a few potential weaknesses to consider. First, although FinancialFit touts its applicability to users at all stages of personal finance, the topics covered may be too advanced for secondary school students while failing to address the needs of those in middle and older adulthood. Second, while the cartoon graphics are inviting, they may unintentionally signal a lack of seriousness. Finally, it is disappointing that the Spanish language version of FinancialFit comes at an additional cost rather than being included with the basic subscription. Accessibility is also limited by the product only being available in English or Spanish, despite EBSCO’s stated intention of increasing equitable access to personal finance information.
FinancialFit is likely to fill a niche for library users in the early to middle stages of their personal financial journeys. Institutions seeking content related to life skills and/or workplace success may prefer to consider Business Skills Accel5 Collection or Personal Success Skills from EBSCOlearning, although these products are much less interactive than FinancialFit. Users who prefer more comprehensive courses and the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion may enjoy exploring the offerings from either edX or Coursera.
Overall, FinancialFit is an excellent e-learning product that is unique in offering accurate, engaging content on a range of personal financial literacy topics focused on early to middle adulthood.
Coursera. (2025). Financial Literacy Courses Online. https://www.edx.org/learn/financial-literacy
EBSCO Connect. (2024, December 13). FinancialFit - User guide. https://connect.ebsco.com/s/article/FinancialFit-User-Guide?language=en_US
EBSCO Connect. (2024, December 30). EBSCO ACRs (VPATs). https://connect.ebsco.com/s/article/EBSCO-VPATs?language=en_US
EBSCO Information Services. (2023, February 14). EBSCO Information Services launches FinancialFit™ [Press release]. https://www.ebsco.com/news-center/press-releases/ebsco-information-services-launches-financialfit
EBSCOLearning. (2024). Business Skills Accel5 Collection.
https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/business-skills-accel5-collection
EBSCOLearning. (2024). Personal Success Skills. https://www.ebsco.com/products/ebscolearning/personal-success-skills
EdX. (2025). Learn Financial Literacy. https://www.edx.org/learn/financial-literacy
Khan Academy. (2025). Welcome to Financial Literacy. https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/financial-literacy/xa6995ea67a8e9fdd:welcome-to-financial-literacy
10.1146/katina-020425-1
