Back to School

We all love to learn, but sometimes classes can get expensive. Wise Bread shares a few ways we can continue our education for free.

If you're still paying off your student loans (or soon will be), learning might feel like more of a chore than fun. The good news is that learning can be fun and free. Below is a list of 15 ways to learn something new at no cost. So take a look, go forth, and expand your mind!

Twenty Great Frugal Skills — and How to Get Them

1. Lowe’s and Home Depot Classes

Both home improvement headquarters offer free classes. Past classes at Home Depot have included lawn maintenance and bathroom workshops, and Lowe’s has partnered with Habitat For Humanity for Women Build — clinics dedicated to teaching women home improvement tips and tricks. Lowe’s also has a Build and Grow clinic geared toward kids. Check out your local store to see what they have coming up.

2. Grocery and Kitchen Store Classes

If you’re anywhere near a Williams-Sonoma, you’ll have the most options. They offer complimentary technique classes for everything from knife skills to braising. Of course, they’re trying to sell you a product, but you’re still going to learn something. Oh, and you’ll get a 10 percent discount in-store the day of the class. As for other grocery and kitchen stores, ask the manager if they have any events coming up or check out their website. Most of Publix’s classes are at a cost, but they might have a few for free!

3. YouTube

YouTube is probably the easiest (but at times, the worst) place to learn on the Internet: people are really into YouTube tutorials nowadays. You can learn to play the ukulele, apply makeup, or sing like Lady Gaga, all in one convenient place. Of course, YouTube has its downsides (like if the person trying to teach you doesn't really know what they're talking about), but anything has to be better than Phoebe’s method of guitar lessons. And if you can't find something that strikes your fancy, just stay on the TEDTalks YouTube channel and let the ideas roll.

Read on for more free ways to learn something new.

Kids grow up so fast!

My two-and-a-half year-old son, Elias, recently started pre-school. If you are at all like me, when your child starts school you don’t want to forget what stage of life they are in. Because I want to remember this special day, I thought it would be fun to start a new yearly tradition in our family. And maybe you will too!

One way that we documented and remember the first day of school is by making a first day of school sign and taking a picture. We wrote these things on our sign:

1) First day of school

2) Elias' grade

3) The date

4) And what he wants to be when he grows up.

My goal is to take this same type of picture every year! It will be such a fun way to see how he changes and grows.

Image Source: Courtesy of Ashley Baker

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

If you're longing for the days of textbooks and homework, remember that there are plenty of ways you can continue your education post-graduation. One of the most important lessons for all of us to learn is how to better manage our finances. After all, money is one of life's biggest stressors and can have a huge impact on different aspects of your life, ranging from your relationship to your work life. The best way to learn is to do it in the most enjoyable way, so here is a list of different mediums to gain personal finance knowledge:

Read

With such a big volume of reading material online and in print, it's hard to figure out which ones are worth your time. For online reads, scour the personal finance sections of daily newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Bookmark blogs SavvySugar, Wise Bread, and Get Rich Slowly for daily posts that cover personal finance and related topics in an easy-to-digest format. If you want to receive nuggets of personal finance wisdom via email, sign up for the LearnVest email subscription service.

For paper reads, Ramit's I Will Teach You to Be Rich ($14) is perfect for those in their 20s and making a decent salary. For those looking for a more comprehensive book on debt, The Total Money Makeover ($16, originally $25) is worth the investment.

Don't want to commit to a book? Sign up for Consumer Reports' yearlong subscription of its monthly newsletter Money Advice ($29) or a yearlong Kiplinger magazine subscription ($12, originally $48).

Read on for more.

School has been in session for a few weeks, but if packing healthy lunches feels like a pop quiz you're failing, we have a some simple swaps to suggest. And we know brown bagging it isn't just for the little ones either. Read up and see how to make sure your lunch box is full of healthful food.

Keep on reading to find out what else you should skip when packing lunch.

We're happy to present this article from our partner site Yahoo! Shine:

It's hard to believe something as small as a peanut could cause so much controversy. But put it in a lunch bag and it can divide a school.

In Viola, Arkansas, a debate is heating up, after a student had his peanut butter and jelly sandwich confiscated at lunchtime. The school has a no-peanut-products policy due to a few students with allergies, so the teacher helped the little boy get a new lunch and sent home a note explaining the situation to his mom.

Related: A Surprising Reason Why Kids Are Shorter

That note didn't go over well, apparently. Soon after the incident, a "School Nut Ban Discussion" group was launched on Facebook by parents conflicted over the policy.

Some parents believe allergy-free students shouldn't have to cater to a few kids' health sensitivities, particularly if it means cutting out healthy or low-cost snacks packed in their own child's lunchbox.

The mom who packed the confiscated PB&J sandwich thinks kids with allergies should learn "how to manage the problem" rather than live inside a "bubble," according to a local news report.

Other parents of special needs kids feel like they're playing second fiddle to those with allergies. "There are some autistic children that will only eat a PB&J sandwich or nothing at all," one parent opposing the ban argued on Facebook. According to the Viola District Superintendent John May, this is the first push-back on a policy in place in his school for some time.

"The policy is in place to protect those with a severe, life threatening problem," May told Area Wide News, a Missouri-based news site. "Until we figure out something else, it would be foolish to drop the policy."

Keep reading to learn more about this lunch staple controversy.

Paying for college can be a tricky financial situation, but Business Insider shares a way to put away money for college tuition.

What might be the most accessible and simplest way to save for college — a 529 savings plan — is typically one of the most widely misunderstood financial tools among consumers.

That all might be changing, however, given a new report by the College Savings Plans Network.

Related: Parents Are Using Rewards Credit Cards to Help Pay For College

Contributions to 529 plans have reached record growth levels, with a total of $179 billion saved in 11 million open accounts so far this year.

Growth has doubled since the same period last year, from $7.43 billion to $14.16 billion in new assets, the group says. The average account holds about $16,300.

This is exciting news and most likely a result of soaring tuition costs that look unlikely to drop anytime soon. A 529 plan is a simple tool parents or relatives can use to tuck away a college nest egg for high school graduates to use on related expenses after enrolling.

If you're in need of a 529 savings plan refresher, here's what you need to know:

What it is: In short, a 529 plan is a tax-free savings fund that can be set up for anyone heading to college. There are two main types: a prepaid tuition plan (the only kind higher education institutions can offer) and a savings fund, according to the College Savings Plan Network. Head over to CSPN's site to try their handy tool to compare the benefits of various plan features.

Read on for more.

Buying college textbooks is one part of back-to-school season we could do without; the rest, like catching up with friends and scoping out new school gadgets, can stay. With the accessibility of digital textbooks, high book prices and back strain from lugging heavy books around campus are happily becoming a distant memory. Give your wallet a break with these e-textbook resources:

• Kindle Textbook Rentals — Amazon's Kindle textbook service allows students to rent for only the time needed, whether it's 30 days for a report or a full year for a class. Books can be accessed on a PC, Mac, Kindle, iOS, Android mobile device, and BlackBerry. Notes made by the student in the text can be used even when the rental period has ended.
• NOOKStudy — Similar to the Amazon Kindle textbook platform, NOOKStudy is available for Macs and PCs. In addition to paid textbooks, Barnes & Noble offers over one million free digital books. Rental options are also available.
• iBooks Textbooks — Introduced in early 2012, Apple's partnership with top educational publishers offers hundreds of interactive textbooks for $15 or less.
• Kno — Buy or rent over 70,000 textbooks with this iPad app. Features let you organize supplemental class PDF readers into the app and ask questions of friends reading the same book.

Three more paper textbook alternatives after the break.

College is a great goal for many students in their academic careers, but the thought of paying is not so fun. Kiplinger shares a few points to keep in mind when paying for college.

You've heard the stories about students who borrow $40,000, $60,000, $100,000 to get a college degree and discover upon graduation that the monthly payments are way too high to manage. And then there are parents who stretch to the breaking point to send their kid to a school they can't afford.

Unrealistic expectations, and the thrill of acceptance letters, can impel families to make decisions that may not only hurt their children's future but also impair their own. According to a recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 10 percent of new grads have monthly loan payments that consume more than 25 percent of their income, and default rates have soared since 2008. Even more depressing, the New York Federal Reserve recently reported that more than two million people ages 60 and older are still paying down student debt.

You — and your kids — can avoid that fate if you steer clear of the mistakes that trip up families when they’re paying for college.

Read on for more.

Choosing a major in college can be stressful, but how important is your course of study? LearnVest shares when majors matter and when they don't with regard to the job market.

As the fall semester starts, one question will undoubtedly be lobbed at millions of college students across the nation: What are you majoring in?

And then, the cringe-inducing follow-up: What are you gonna do with a degree in anthropology/zoology/religious studies/medieval history?

The question is especially timely: With student loan debt in the United States climbing over $1 trillion and the job market still sputtering, choosing a major seems increasingly important as students contemplate how they will pay off those looming loans.

Read on for more about the importance of majors.