Tools you can use today

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Browse practical learning tools and community referrals. No donation, account, or email signup is required to access the resources below.

Need help now?

In the U.S., call or text 988 for free, confidential crisis support, or visit 988 Lifeline. For help finding food, housing, and other local services, call 211 or visit 211.org. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

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Seven practical learning tools.

Spirituality

The Purpose Compass

Four questions — identity, gifts, service, discipline — that point you toward what you were made for, ending in a one-sentence purpose statement you write yourself.

Download The Purpose Compass (SVG) ↓

Finance

Get Out of Debt

The five-step payoff plan, plus a side-by-side of the snowball and avalanche methods so you can pick the one you will actually finish.

Download Get Out of Debt (SVG) ↓

Vocational Training

Earn While You Learn

How registered apprenticeships work, what makes them different from school, how to get into one, and which trades commonly offer them.

Download Earn While You Learn (SVG) ↓

Career Readiness

Your First 90 Days

Getting hired is the easy part. Three phases for keeping the job — plus the five habits that actually get people fired.

Download Your First 90 Days (SVG) ↓

Explore outside support

Community resource directory

These independent organizations offer information, tools, or services. IBM is not affiliated with them and receives no payment for listing them. Confirm eligibility, location, availability, and any costs with the provider.

34 resources found

Faith & Spiritual Growth

Everything we build rests here. These are free ways to read, study, and be discipled — no membership, no purchase.

Nonprofit

BibleProject

Free animated videos, a podcast, and study notes that walk through every book of the Bible and its major themes. Excellent if you have never studied before.

Visit BibleProject (opens a new tab)↗

Money & Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is the first pillar of the IBM curriculum. These are the free, unbiased sources we point people to — none of them sell you a product.

Federal agency

MyMoney.gov

The U.S. government’s financial-education hub, organized around earning, saving, protecting, spending, and borrowing. A clean starting point.

Visit MyMoney.gov (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

CFPB Consumer Tools

Plain-English guides on debt collection, credit reports, bank accounts, auto loans, and mortgages — plus a free process for filing a complaint that gets a company response.

Visit CFPB Consumer Tools (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

Investor.gov

The SEC’s free investing basics — and a search tool to check whether anyone calling themselves an advisor is actually licensed. Check before you hand over a dollar.

Visit Investor.gov (opens a new tab)↗

Career & Employment

Résumé help, interview coaching, and job placement already exist near you at no cost. Most people never use them because nobody told them they were there.

Federal agency

CareerOneStop

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor: résumé builder, interview prep, salary data, training finder, and the locator for your nearest American Job Center.

Visit CareerOneStop (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

American Job Centers

Walk-in centers offering free résumé review, interview coaching, computer and internet access, and in many cases funding for training. Free to the public.

Visit American Job Centers (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

O*NET OnLine

Look up what a job actually involves day to day, the skills it requires, and what related work you might already be qualified for.

Visit O*NET OnLine (opens a new tab)↗

Vocational & Trade Training

The third pillar of the compound. A trade can be learned while earning a paycheck — no tuition debt required.

Federal agency

Apprenticeship.gov

The official finder for registered apprenticeships: search paid, credentialed training programs by trade and ZIP code. You are hired as an employee, not enrolled as a debtor.

Visit Apprenticeship.gov (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

Job Corps

For ages 16–24: free career training in trades like construction, healthcare, and IT — with housing, meals, and basic medical care included. No tuition.

Visit Job Corps (opens a new tab)↗

Education & Free Learning

Entrance exams, GED prep, computer skills, and the basics nobody got to teach you. All of this is genuinely free.

Nonprofit

Khan Academy

Free lessons and practice in math, reading, and science, plus GED and SAT preparation. The best free way to brush up before a trade entrance exam.

Visit Khan Academy (opens a new tab)↗

Nonprofit

GCFGlobal (LearnFree)

Free short courses in computer basics, Microsoft Office, email, online safety, job searching, and everyday math. Written for adult beginners without talking down.

Visit GCFGlobal (LearnFree) (opens a new tab)↗

Nonprofit

DigitalLearn

Free self-paced tutorials on using a computer, navigating the internet, and doing things online safely. Built by the public library community.

Visit DigitalLearn (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

USA.gov

The official front door to government services: replacing vital documents, benefits, and agency contacts, without the scam sites that charge for the same thing.

Visit USA.gov (opens a new tab)↗

Housing, Food & Basic Needs

No one builds a future in survival mode. If today is the hard part, start with these.

24/7 hotline

211

Call or text 211 from anywhere in the U.S. One call connects you to local help with food, rent, utilities, shelter, transportation, and replacing lost ID.

Visit 211 (opens a new tab)↗

Mental Health & Recovery

Transformation starts from the inside out. Asking for help here is strength, and every line below is free and confidential.

24/7 hotline

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call or text 988, any hour, anywhere in the U.S., for thoughts of suicide, a mental-health crisis, or emotional distress — yours or someone else’s. Veterans: dial 988, then press 1.

Visit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens a new tab)↗

Federal agency

FindTreatment.gov

Search verified treatment facilities for substance use and mental health by location, including options that take Medicaid or offer sliding-scale payment.

Visit FindTreatment.gov (opens a new tab)↗

Nonprofit

NAMI

The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers free local support groups and education for people living with mental illness and for the families walking with them.

Visit NAMI (opens a new tab)↗

Purpose in practice

22 principles for personal growth

Explore the lessons in our purpose-development curriculum. These learning topics support reflection and practice; they are not evidence of an operating residential program.

  1. Inspiration and Guidance
  2. Natural Abilities
  3. A Clear Vision
  4. Sacrifice, Discipline, and Priorities
  5. Map It Out
  6. The Achievement Board
  7. Enhancing Your Relationships
  8. Enhance Your Belief
  9. Enhance Your Perseverance
  10. Enhance Your Personality
  11. Enhance Your Tenacity
  12. Achieve the Right Behavior
  13. Achieve the Right Attitude
  14. Achieve the Right Appetite
  15. Achieve Restraint
  16. Achieve the Right Morals and Values
  17. Achieve Exponential Growth
  18. Achieve the Right Team
  19. Achieve the Right Character
  20. Achieve the Vision
  21. Achieve the Right Body
  22. Achieve the Right Budget

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