Course Content
Module 1 – Psychology of Finance
This module teaches why we make certain financial decisions — and how to change them: from beliefs and emotions, through motivation, to goals and spending priorities.
0/14
Introduction
Financial beliefs and patterns
Exercise: Financial quotes
Exercise: The power of habits in personal finance
Emotions and money
Motivation and adaptation
Exercise: Find your financial “why?”
Prioritise your spending
Exercise: ‘Need or Want’
Exercise: Purchasing Decisions
Exercise: Impulsive shopping
Financial planning and goal setting
Exercise: Setting financial goals
Summary
Module 2 – Household Budget under Control
Learn proven techniques for managing a household budget in Polish conditions. You'll learn to track income and expenses, use spreadsheets and apps, plan seasonal costs, and build an emergency fund – without jargon, but with concrete templates and exercises.
0/16
Introduction
Personal and household budget management
Exercise: Home budget in questions
Where do you start?
Exercise: Monthly expenditure tracking sheet
A real-life story
Exercise: Finance detective
Income categories
Exercise: Your available sources of income
Expense categories
Exercise: Household expenses
Ways to run a household budget
Seasonality of the household budget
Planning your expenses
Unexpected expenses
Summary
Module 3 – Saving
You'll build saving habits, learn about safe ways to accumulate funds and principles of responsible borrowing to avoid costly traps.
0/15
Introduction
Financial Stability Steps
The importance of saving
Exercise: Planning savings goals
Savings strategies and habits
Exercise: Money thieves
Start not wasting
Exercise: Recalculate how much your small expenses are costing you
Simple and effective ways to save money
Different forms of saving
Exercise: Family Saving
Borrowing wisely – the basics
Avoiding financial traps
Exercise: Good or bad credit?
Exercise: Knowledge about Loans and Credit
Module 4 – Basic Institutions
You'll learn about basic financial institutions and products in Poland, as well as the most important consumer rights, so you can use services safely and consciously.
0/14
Introduction
Basic financial institutions in Poland
Bank and account selection
Exercise: Comparison of banks
How to open a bank account?
Use of basic banking services
Basic financial institutions
Basic insurance
Security in electronic banking
Exercise: How to recognize a fake e-mail from a bank?
Consumer rights in the financial market
Avoiding financial traps
Financial market specializations
Summary
Module 5 – Finance in the Digital World
You'll learn to safely use online and mobile banking, cashless payments (card, BLIK, wallets), and recognize online scams.
0/19
Introduction
Online and mobile banking
Exercise: Consciously use online banking
Exercise: secure password
Exercise: mobile hotspot
Cashless payments in Poland
Exercise: BLIK in practice
How to protect your financial data
Exercise: Recognize a fake message
Typical scams and how to defend against them
Exercise: Recognize a BLIK scam
Safe online shopping
Exercise: Check the security of your store
Securing your computer and smartphone
Exercise: Test your knowledge
Exercise: Stay up to date
Phone scams: A true story
Data protection and RODO
Financial security in a digital world
Finances at a New Address

The importance of saving and building a financial safety fund

Is it possible to save from any budget?

The essence of saving.

A year from now you’ll wish you’d started today.

Karen Lamb

Many people think there is nothing to save from, especially when budgets are tight. This thinking is a trap. True money management skills don’t come from getting rich – it comes from consciously managing your money.

Remember Parkinson’s Law in finance: Your expenses increase to match the amount of your income. This means that if you don’t learn to save when you earn less, you probably won’t do it when your income increases either.

Saving is:

  1. Putting money away in a safe place, with an eye to the future and specific goals.
  2. Conscious behaviour and decisions that help reduce unnecessary spending and leave more money in your account.

This is why the household budget, which we talked about in the previous module, is so important. It allows you to know exactly how much money is coming in and what it is being spent on. This is the basis to start saving. Remember – you won’t learn to manage big money if you can’t manage small money.

What is a financial safety fund and how do you build one?

A financial safety fund, also known as the financial safety net, is your personal reserve of money for sudden, unforeseen situations. In Poland, where you have to build everything from the beginning , it is particularly important. It protects you from having to go into high-interest debt when, for example, you suddenly lose your job or go on a longer sick leave.

How do you start building up a financial safety fund?

  • Aim: Financial safety fund that should cover your household’s monthly expenses for at least three and preferably six months. If your fixed monthly expenses are 4000 PLN you should aim to save between 12 000 PLN and 24 000 PLN.
  • Systematic: It is not the size of the amount that matters, but the regularity. Even PLN 300 every month is a great start. Habit is important.
  • The power of small amounts put aside regularly:
    • 50 PLN put aside for 12 months gives you 600 PLN.
    • 100 PLN put aside for 12 months gives you 1200 PLN.
    • 200 PLN for 12 months gives you 2400 PLN.

It’s easier to set aside 100 PLN every month than 1 200 PLN at once in an emergency, isn’t it?

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