See our introduction webinar to walk through every aspect of creating your class stock, adding assignments, viewing reports, and much more.
Also check our webinar in managing your class Budget Game, including how the game works, class set-up, and teacher reports.
It is getting to the end of the semester – a lot of your students are about to graduate. You taught everything you could – and leveraged the PersonalFinanceLab Budgeting Game, Investing Game, and Assignments to help hammer those lessons home.
But you still want one last thing to give students as a final take-away – the 10 most important financial topics you want to make sure they remember for the rest of their lives.
This exact desire for a final take-away is why we created our Personal Finance Survival Kit – designed as an 8 print-off (2 pages front-and back, folded into half pages) that students can print off and take home as a reminder of the most important lessons in personal finance.
This is the web version – you can download our print version here, or send the link to your students to print off on their own at home!
For teachers who get our Gift Boxes each semester, we will also be bundling a few of these print-outs in each box!
Happy Learning!
-PFinLab Team
The results are in! After weeks of budgeting, investing, and real-world financial decision-making, the Spring 2026 Financial Literacy Challenge has officially wrapped up. Students from across North America demonstrated incredible financial knowledge, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills throughout the competition.
We’re excited to recognize this year’s top performers and celebrate the teachers who continue to inspire the next generation of financially confident students. Congratulations to all of our winners—and to every student who participated and strengthened their financial literacy skills along the way!
From mastering spending decisions to building smart saving habits, this year’s Budget Game winners showcased outstanding financial decision-making skills throughout the challenge. Congratulations to all of our top-performing students for their hard work, strategy, and dedication!
This semester’s Stock Game winners demonstrated impressive investing knowledge, portfolio strategy, and market analysis skills. Competing in a dynamic market environment, these students rose to the top with thoughtful trades and strong long-term thinking. Congratulations to our winning investors!
This spring, more than 1,600 students submitted heartfelt nominations sharing why their teachers deserve recognition for making financial literacy engaging, impactful, and inspiring. We’re proud to celebrate this year’s winning teachers and the incredible difference they’ve made in their classrooms.
Congratulations to:
Jason Ware – Lambert High School, GA
Heather Hastie – Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, ON
Leesa Hudak – Bow High School
Read what their students had to say here.
Thank you to every student, teacher, and classroom that participated in the Spring 2026 Financial Literacy Challenge. Your enthusiasm, creativity, and dedication to building real-world financial skills made this semester’s competition an incredible success.
Congratulations again to all of our winners, and a special thank you to the educators who continue to empower the next generation with the confidence and knowledge to make smart financial decisions. We can’t wait to see you again for the next Financial Literacy Challenge!
We’re excited to announce the winners of the 2026 PersonalFinanceLab Financial Literacy Challenge Teacher Giveaway!
This year, students from across North America nominated the educators who have made a meaningful impact on their financial literacy journey. We received over 1,600 nominations, each sharing thoughtful stories about teachers who are making a real difference in the classroom
After reviewing all the nominations, we’re thrilled to recognize three outstanding teachers, each of whom will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card as a small token of our appreciation.
Lambert High School, Georgia
“Mr. Ware was a profoundly deep individual to my Financial Literacy comprehension skills. As a result of Mr. Ware, I was able to expand my borders of knowledge within Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.”
Jason Ware’s impact clearly extends beyond the classroom, helping students build a deeper and more confident understanding of core economic principles.
Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Ontario
“I am nominating my teacher because they have gone far beyond simply teaching financial concepts—they have fundamentally changed the way I think about money and decision-making. Before taking their class, financial literacy felt abstract and even intimidating. Budgeting, saving, investing, and credit were just terms I had heard but never fully understood or applied. My teacher made these ideas practical, relevant, and empowering.”
Heather Hastie’s ability to transform financial literacy from intimidating to empowering is exactly what this challenge is all about.
Bow High School
“I am nominating my teacher because she has had a major impact on how I understand financial literacy and how I approach learning in general. She is a tough teacher who sets high expectations, pushing students to think deeper and truly understand the material.
What makes her stand out is how she connects financial literacy to the real world—especially through lessons on the stock market and investing—making everything relevant and engaging. Because of her teaching, I now have a much stronger understanding of investing and financial responsibility.”
Leesa Hudak exemplifies the kind of educator who challenges students while equipping them with lifelong skills. You can read more about her teaching approach in our previous profile here.
We want to extend a sincere thank you to every teacher who was nominated. The passion, dedication, and real-world impact reflected in these submissions made it clear that financial literacy education is thriving in classrooms everywhere.
To all educators using PersonalFinanceLab—thank you for the work you do every day to prepare students for their financial futures. Your influence goes far beyond the curriculum.
Stay tuned for more opportunities, highlights, and educator stories from the PersonalFinanceLab community!
We’re excited to introduce three new additions to our Personal Finance Curriculum Library, focused on topics students will encounter early in their working lives: 401(k) Plans, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRA), and Paying for Healthcare using FSA, HSA, and HRA.
While these topics may seem like “future” concerns, many of the most important financial decisions students will make happen within their first few years of working. These lessons are designed to help students understand those decisions before they have to make them.
Our 401(k) lesson introduces workplace retirement plans, including employer matching, vesting periods, tax advantages, and automatic contributions. Students see how these plans work in practice and why contributing early can make a major difference over time.
The IRA lesson builds on this by exploring individual retirement savings options. Students learn the differences between Traditional and Roth IRAs, how tax benefits work, and how these accounts fit alongside employer-sponsored plans .
Finally, our healthcare lesson helps students navigate the often confusing world of FSA, HSA, and HRA accounts. It breaks down how each program works and how they can be used to manage healthcare costs more effectively.
Across all three lessons, the focus is on real-world application. Students explore how these programs actually work, what choices they will need to make, and how those choices can impact their long-term financial well-being.
Each lesson also wraps up with a short pop quiz to reinforce key concepts and check for understanding.
We hope these additions help your students build a stronger foundation in managing workplace benefits, planning for the future, and making informed financial decisions.
Happy Learning!
– The PersonalFinanceLab Team
We’re excited to introduce the newest addition to our Personal Finance Curriculum Library: Paying for Healthcare – Using FSA, HSA, and HRA!
Healthcare costs are one of the most common sources of financial stress, yet the tools available to manage those costs are often confusing and overlooked. This lesson helps students make sense of three of the most common programs they may encounter through an employer.
In this lesson, we cover Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA), along with how each one works, how they are funded, and how they can be used. Students learn the key differences between these options and how each can help reduce the overall cost of healthcare.
What makes this lesson especially valuable is the focus on real-world decisions. Students explore questions like what happens to unused funds, what carries over from year to year, and how these accounts fit into broader financial planning. These are details that can have a real impact on someone’s finances, but are rarely taught early on.
The lesson wraps up with a short pop quiz to reinforce key concepts and check for understanding.
We hope this lesson helps your students feel more confident navigating healthcare costs and workplace benefits.
Happy Learning!
– The PersonalFinanceLab Team
We’re excited to introduce the newest addition to our Personal Finance Curriculum Library: Understanding Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRA)!
Retirement planning is one of those topics students know is important, but rarely understand in a practical way. This lesson helps connect the dots early by showing how small, consistent savings decisions can grow into something meaningful over time.
In this lesson, we cover key topics like Traditional vs Roth IRAs, tax advantages, contribution limits, early withdrawal rules, and more. Each concept is presented in a way that helps students understand not just how these accounts work, but why they matter.
What makes this lesson especially valuable is the focus on real-world application. Students explore how IRA contributions can reduce taxable income, how different account types affect long-term outcomes, and how IRAs fit alongside other retirement tools like 401(k) plans . These are the kinds of decisions many people do not fully understand until much later, which is exactly why they are important to introduce in the classroom.
The lesson wraps up with a short pop quiz to reinforce key concepts and check for understanding.
We hope this lesson helps your students build a strong foundation in long-term saving and investing.
Happy Learning!
– The PersonalFinanceLab Team
We’re excited to introduce the newest addition to our Personal Finance Curriculum Library: Understanding 401(k) Plans!
Retirement might feel like a distant concept for students, but some of the most important financial decisions they will ever make start within the first few years of working.
In this lesson, we cover key topics like Defined Contribution vs Defined Benefit plans, tax advantages, employer matching, vesting periods, automatic contributions, and more. Each concept is presented in a practical way to help students connect what they learn in class to real decisions they will face early in their careers.
What makes this lesson especially valuable is the focus on how these accounts work in real life. Students explore how contributions are taxed, what happens when you change jobs, and why vesting periods matter. These are details many people do not learn until much later, which is exactly why they are important to introduce in the classroom.
The lesson wraps up with a short pop quiz to reinforce key concepts and check for understanding.
We hope this lesson helps your students build a strong foundation for understanding workplace benefits and long-term financial planning.
Happy Learning!
– The PersonalFinanceLab Team
On March 18th, we hosted our Spring 2026 Financial Literacy Challenge Kickoff Webinar, where we showed how PersonalFinanceLab’s free challenge can help engage students and build real-world financial skills.
In this session, we walk through:
If you are planning to participate this spring, this webinar is a great place to get started.
The results from our pre- and post- tests in 2025 are in – and we could not be more excited!
PersonalFinanceLab has pre- and post- testing integrated in out platform for participating classes. Teachers who agree to the integrated Pre Test will have their students complete our 15-question pre-test launch on their first sign-in.
Then, 2 weeks before their class End Date, students will be prompted to take our post- test. The questions on each test are the same, and are categorized as “Credit”, “Investing”, or “Saving and Income”. This allows us to separately report on outcomes of students depending on whether they participated in the Budgeting Game or Stock Game.
You can see our updated methodology by clicking here.
Because not every student utilizes both our Stock Game and Budgeting Game, and these games are designed to teach different types of financial concepts, we split out our reporting based on if a student completed each game. We also only count results of students who completed BOTH the pre- test and post-test, for a perfect apples-to-apples measurement of improvement.
| Question Category | Pre-Test Score | Post-Test Score | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit | 42% | 68% | +62% |
| Investing | 43% | 69% | +60% |
| Savings and Income | 42% | 55% | +31% |
| Question Category | Pre-Test Score | Post-Test Score | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit | 42% | 69% | +63% |
| Investing | 43% | 70% | +61% |
| Savings and Income | 42% | 57% | +35% |
| Question Category | Pre-Test Score | Post-Test Score | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit | 44% | 71% | +62% |
| Investing | 46% | 72% | +56% |
| Savings and Income | 45% | 55% | +24% |
Since our last reported pre- and post- test results, we modified our mini-lessons in the budgeting game to include a variety of investing topics (especially towards the end of the game). Since this change, students playing the budgeting game have gone from very little observed improvement on understanding investing concepts to almost as much improvement as students who fully participated in the stock game.
We also revamped our “Word of the Day” system that students encounter throughout both games. The previous “Key Terms” widget showed a different financial definition on each page, while our new system consistently shows the same “Word of the Day” all day, with updated definitions and links to lessons covering that concept in more detail. This has helped cross-pollination of students participating only in the stock game to getting much better exposure to general financial literacy concepts – which we are partially attributing to the increase in scores on Credit and Savings/Income topics for students who otherwise would not have had much exposure to those concepts.
If your class is using PersonalFinanceLab and you want to see your students’ results, there is a specific assignment task for “Pre Test” and “Post Test”, as well as a class setting to require students to complete both tests as part of your class (you can find this setting on class set-up, or “Edit My Session” from the admin menu.
We highly encourage teachers to require their students to complete the post test! Frequently teachers will assign only the pre-test to get a benchmark for student understanding at the start of the class, but not the post-test at the end of the class. We greatly appreciate teachers assigning BOTH tests to give us the widest-possible data set to measure the effectiveness of the platform!
We will continue to monitor student results closely, along with student and teacher feedback for our next updates!
We recently hosted a live webinar walking through important updates to our Assignments feature — and how these changes impact your existing classes.
If you’re currently using Assignments (or planning to), this session will help you understand what’s new, what’s improved, and how to make the most of the latest enhancements.
If you weren’t able to attend live — or would like to revisit the walkthrough — you can watch the full recording below:
If you have any questions after watching, feel free to reach out to our team. We’re always happy to help you get the most out of PersonalFinanceLab.
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Hey teachers!
Our feature update list for the Spring semester is shorter than some of our previous releases, but that’s because they are some big ones! Get excited for the biggest update to our Assignments engine we’ve ever seen, and a new AI assistant to help students understand their portfolios in our Stock Game!
Our biggest update is a complete overhaul of our Assignments Engine!
This update includes, but is not limited to:
Our Wealth Wizard is a classroom-safe, AI-powered tool for our stock game, designed to help students pick their first stocks, understand their portfolio, and learn smart questions to ask when building and managing investments.
While these two enhancements are the only big ones for this Spring, as always we have a mountain of small improvements to our lesson library, bug fixes, and small improvements to both student and instructor user experiences in store as well!
Happy Learning!
-The PFinLab Team
Hey teachers!
Our stock game is getting a big upgrade for students looking for help building their portfolio with our new AI companion – the Wealth Wizard!
Not a fan of AI in the classroom? The Wealth Wizard can be toggled on or off in your class settings!
The Wealth Wizard is an AI companion that helps students ask smart questions about how they build an investment portfolio, both in making their first trades and as they manage their portfolio throughout their class.
The Wealth Wizard works by giving students a series of prompts about smart questions to ask about building their portfolio – and uses our integrated AI to answer them.
Note: The Wealth Wizard does not have any open-ended input from students – students are limited to interaction through our pre-defined prompts, based only on their PersonalFinanceLab stock game portfolio.
The Wealth Wizard starts off by asking students how much they want to invest, in how many different industries, which industries they are most interested in, and their risk level (Conservative, Moderate, or Aggressive). It then suggests matching stocks that fit their criteria, pulled mostly from our existing “Suggested Stocks” rotating list. Think of it like a personalized Stock Screener for beginners!
The Wealth Wizard is not limited to just smart suggestions for trading ideas – it can also help students understand and rebalance their portfolio after they have made their first trades.
Some of the prompts available include:
The Wealth Wizard will be made available for classes on PersonalFinanceLab in January, 2026.
No. While the Wealth Wizard is powered by AI, students are not able to directly interact with the AI itself, give any personalized prompts, or make any response to its output based on what prompts they did select.
This helps ensure there is a safety wall between students and the AI, helping to improve student digital literacy while also keeping students exposed to the technologies that exist after graduation.
No. The Wealth Wizard is a configurable setting for your class Stock Game settings (turned off by default). Instructors can enable or disable the Wealth Wizard at any time in their class settings.
No, but based on user feedback, the Wealth Wizard may be made available as part of the budgeting game at a later date. While the Budgeting Game does provide feedback to students based on their actions through the game, this is provided based purely by their actions in a defined feedback system with static output (it is not run through any AI).
We hope you are as excited as we are to bring the latest and greatest digital tools to your classroom!
-The PFinLab Team
Hey teachers!
We are excited to announce the biggest overhaul we’ve ever made to our Assignments engine – just in time for your Spring classes!
“Assignments” refers to the built-in tracking system featured on PersonalFinanceLab. This system allows teachers to assign work for their students to do on the platform – from playing through the Budgeting Game (or making certain types of purchases while they play), to building their portfolio on the Stock Game, or completing lessons and taking quizzes in our curriculum library, and everything in between.
By creating an Assignment, teachers set start dates and due dates, and select which tasks they want their students to complete (be it actions in our Games or lessons and quizzes to complete). Teachers can even stack up assignments by using Prerequisites, or give students Rewards in either game if the assignments are completed on time.
The Assignments system is also used for the backbone of our Badges and Certificates.
We have spent the last several months re-building our assignments engine from the ground up to meet the growing needs of teachers we work with every day.
Besides the back-end improvements in speed of reporting (particularly how fast a student can download their Certificates of Completion after finishing all requirements), there are a number of changes and improvements teachers can find this Spring:
Assignments previously were “locked” to the dates you selected. Adding tasks to an Assignment after students already completed some of the required work could cause desynchronization of reports, or lost quiz progress.
The new Assignments engine separates the reporting from logging. This means you can make any edit to your Assignments at any time, and it will automatically update based on your new settings.
Not only does this make it easier to update your class settings as your classroom needs evolve, but it even allows changing grade requirements after students have already begun (for example, allowing students with particularly low scores to re-take quizzes, without impacting the rest of the class), or even creating an assignment in the past to see which students made certain actions before now.
The new system’s logging and reporting features open a lot of possibilities for dense assignments. This includes a greater number of tasks allowed per assignment (formerly 100 tasks per assignment, now allows EVERY task simultaneously), but also a greater number of assignments per class (formerly capped at 20, now unlimited).
This gives much greater flexibility to non-profit organizations that wish to open up every task to students all in one go due to asynchronous learning, as well as hyper-focused teachers that like to create separate assignments for every class session.
The Assignments Reporting restrictions are also lifted, meaning large classes (150+ students) have access to the same reporting and export capabilities, without manual exports needed through their account managers.
The previous version of our assignments system allowed teachers to grant “Retries” to quizzes that they included as part of their class assignment – but it limited to “None” or “Infinite” (with grades simply based on the last attempt of retries were allowed).
Tasks also needed to be individually toggled to be retried or not, a tedious process for assignments that might have dozens of tasks.
Our latest update instead introduces a new concept – “Allowed Attempts”. With Allowed Attempts, instructors can specify how many attempts are allowed on any given quiz – the system will report the highest grade a student achieved within the allowed number of attempts. “Allowed Attempts” is also set once for your entire assignment – no need to manually set this separately for every single quiz.
If a student continues to re-attempt the quiz, their grade on the Report Card will not update, but teachers can see any additional attempts when inspecting the Student Details.
Previously our assignments system was locked to US Eastern Time – despite other time restrictions being based on the time zone instructors select when creating their session.
This limitation has been removed with the new Assignments engine, ensuring precisely-set start and end dates are always exactly what instructors expect when setting up.
Last, but definitely not least, is our full support for French and Spanish-language classes! Earlier in the Fall 2025 semester we released our translated content for our quizzes and budget game (with the stock game fully translated several years ago), but the assignment admin interface and reporting was still English-Only.
This update brings full translation across every element of the platform!
Our upgraded Assignments system is running in the background now – but not all of the features will be available until late January 2026 (with both the old system and new system running in parallel for testing purposes).
When the update is released, it will be applied retroactively to all existing assignments, with all the new features applied to existing assignments automatically.
Happy Learning!
-The PFinLab Team
fully aligned with TEKS §130.180 and supported by hands-on, project-based activities through PersonalFinanceLab.
This curriculum guides students step-by-step through the real financial decisions they will make as young adults. From budgeting and income to investing, major purchases, and financial protection, each unit builds toward the capstone project: Funding Your Desired Life, where students create a complete personal financial plan using real data and practical math skills.
Here’s what the full course now includes:
Each unit includes lessons, activities, calculators, and project components designed to help students make confident, well-informed financial decisions—now and for the rest of their lives.
Unit 8 of TEKS Financial Mathematics focuses on the protective side of personal finance—teaching students how insurance, emergency planning, and consumer protections help safeguard their financial future. After building their financial “offense” in Units 1–7, this final unit shifts to financial “defense,” ensuring that unexpected events don’t derail their long-term plans.
Students learn the essentials of health, disability, and life insurance, plus how to protect major assets through auto, renter’s, and homeowner’s coverage. The unit also introduces strategies for preventing identity theft, spotting scams, and preparing simple end-of-life documents.
What Students Do in Unit 8:
Unit 8 equips students with the knowledge to protect themselves, their belongings, and the financial plan they’ve worked hard to build.
Unit 7 of TEKS Financial Mathematics helps students understand the financial decisions behind life’s biggest early purchases—buying a car, renting an apartment, and purchasing a home. Students learn how to compare options, calculate total costs, and evaluate long-term trade-offs so they can make informed choices that fit their budget and financial plan.
Through hands-on activities, students research real vehicles and housing options, calculate loan payments, build amortization tables, and perform rent-vs-buy comparisons. This unit brings together budgeting, credit, and mathematical analysis to prepare students for major real-world financial decisions.
What Students Do in Unit 7:
Unit 7 gives students the tools to evaluate major purchases with clarity and confidence, ensuring these big decisions support—not undermine—their long-term financial goals.
Unit 6 of TEKS Financial Mathematics teaches students how credit works, how to borrow responsibly, and how debt affects long-term financial health. Students explore different types of credit—from credit cards to installment loans—and learn the true cost of borrowing by calculating interest, monthly payments, and payoff timelines.
They also examine credit reports and credit scores, learning how financial behavior impacts borrowing opportunities, housing, and even employment. By the end of this unit, students understand how to build, protect, and repair their credit profile.
What Students Do in Unit 6:
Unit 6 equips students with the practical skills to use credit wisely and avoid the financial pitfalls that can come with unmanaged debt.
Unit 5 of TEKS Financial Mathematics introduces students to the world of investing and helps them understand how to grow their wealth beyond traditional savings. Students learn the differences between major asset classes—such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs—and explore how risk, return, and diversification work together in a long-term investment plan.
Through hands-on activities and the Stock Game, students research companies, compare performance, and practice making informed buy, sell, and hold decisions. By the end of the unit, they begin building a diversified portfolio aligned with their financial goals.
What Students Do in Unit 5:
Unit 5 gives students the confidence to make smart, informed investing decisions and understand how long-term investing supports their bigger financial goals.
Unit 4 of TEKS Financial Mathematics teaches students how to turn saving into a long-term habit and understand the math behind building wealth over time. Students explore different types of financial institutions and account options, compare payment methods, and learn how to choose the right tools for everyday banking.
The unit then moves into the core concepts that drive long-term financial growth—compound interest, the Rule of 72, and time value of money. Students begin translating small saving decisions into long-term outcomes, including the foundation of their future retirement planning.
What Students Do in Unit 4:
Unit 4 helps students see that saving isn’t just about setting money aside—it’s about using math strategically to grow wealth over a lifetime.
Unit 3 of TEKS Financial Mathematics gives students a practical understanding of how the U.S. tax system works. They learn how to read common tax forms, calculate taxable income, apply progressive tax brackets, and determine whether a filer owes taxes or is due a refund. This unit takes the mystery out of tax filing by breaking the process into simple, step-by-step calculations.
Students explore filing statuses, deductions, credits, and the difference between marginal and effective tax rates. They also learn how side income, capital gains, and self-employment affect taxes, helping them make informed financial decisions now and in the future.
What Students Do in Unit 3:
Unit 3 empowers students to understand their tax obligations with confidence and prepares them for real-world financial independence.
In Unit 2 of TEKS Financial Mathematics, students learn how income really works—from reading a paycheck to understanding total compensation and how economic factors influence long-term earning potential. This unit builds directly on their lifestyle goals from Unit 1, helping students evaluate whether their chosen career path can support their desired financial plan.
Students explore the differences between gross and net pay, compare W-2 and contractor roles, and analyze the value of employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions, and paid time off. They also begin mapping a long-term income strategy that includes additional income streams and ongoing skill development.
What Students Do in Unit 2:
Unit 2 helps students see income not just as a number on a paycheck, but as a complete picture of financial opportunity, benefits, and career strategy.
TEKS Financial Mathematics is a hands-on, project-based course that teaches students how to apply math to real financial decisions. Unit 1 launches the course’s capstone project, Funding Your Desired Life, where students begin building a personalized financial plan they will update throughout all eight units.
In this first unit, students learn the basics of budgeting, explore career pathways, and calculate the true cost—and return on investment (ROI)—of postsecondary education. Using data from the Budget Game and real job postings, they connect everyday money choices to long-term lifestyle goals.
What Students Do in Unit 1:
Unit 1 gives students a realistic starting point for understanding how their choices today shape the financial future they want tomorrow.
The Financial Literacy Challenge 2025 has officially come to a close—and what an incredible year it has been! Thousands of students from across the country put their financial knowledge to the test.
This challenge continues to be one of our favorite annual initiatives because it highlights exactly why financial education matters: students gain confidence, build life-long skills, and learn to make informed decisions that set them up for future success. This year’s participants raised the bar higher than ever.
Today, we are excited to recognize the students who truly excelled.
The Budget Game tested students’ ability to manage income, handle unexpected expenses, and make wise financial decisions under pressure. These students achieved the highest scores and demonstrated stellar money-management skills. Congratulations to the top 5 students who have each won a $50 Amazon Gift Card.
The Stock Game highlighted students’ understanding of investing, diversification, market trends, and long-term wealth building. These winners earned the highest portfolio values and demonstrated smart, strategic investment choices. Congratulations to the top 5 students who have each won a $50 Amazon Gift Card.
One of the most meaningful parts of this year’s challenge is hearing from students about the teachers who inspired and supported them. The Teacher Nomination Awards honor educators who made a lasting impact—whether through exceptional guidance, enthusiasm for financial education, or dedication to their students’ success.
Every student who took part in the Financial Literacy Challenge gained valuable real-world skills—budgeting, saving, investing, and more—that will last a lifetime. We also extend our deepest appreciation to the educators who bring financial literacy to life in their classrooms. Teachers will be contacted directly if they or their students have won.
Stay tuned for information about the 2026 Spring Financial Literacy Challenge!
Is your financial plan built to withstand a storm?
A strong financial plan needs a great defense. This presentation teaches students how to build a fortress around their finances, covering the three essential layers of protection: a robust emergency fund, the right types of insurance, and a multi-layered strategy for protecting their digital identity from modern scams.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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This presentation decodes the “alphabet soup” of retirement savings, making complex topics easy to understand. Students will learn the key differences between employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s and personal accounts like IRAs, and they’ll master the critical decision between paying taxes now (Roth) or later (Traditional).
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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What is the single most powerful force for building wealth?
This presentation reveals the magic of compound interest, showing how it can make your money grow exponentially over time. Students will learn the difference between simple and compound growth and discover a powerful mental math shortcut, the Rule of 72, to estimate their investment returns.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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Are you using the right tools to manage your money safely and effectively?
This presentation builds a foundational “Saving Toolkit” for managing your money. Students will compare banks and credit unions, learn the specific purpose of checking, savings, money market, and CD accounts, and evaluate the pros and cons of different payment methods like cash, debit, and credit.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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How are you taxed on money you don’t earn from a paycheck?
Moving beyond income tax, this presentation explores the taxes associated with building and transferring wealth. Students will learn how investments are taxed (capital gains), understand the rules for passing assets to the next generation (estate, gift, and inheritance tax), and discover how property taxes fund local communities.
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What if you could legally lower the amount of income the government taxes?
This lesson walks students through the key decisions needed to prepare their first tax return. Students will learn how to choose a filing status, understand the power of deductions and pre-tax contributions to lower their taxable income, and compare different methods for filing.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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How can you build multiple income streams and protect them from forces outside your control?
This presentation explores both the “offense” and “defense” of earning money. Students will first learn about five distinct sources of income beyond a traditional paycheck, then analyze five major economic factors—like inflation and technological change—that can impact their financial future.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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How do you get paid correctly and avoid surprises on tax day?
This presentation is a practical guide to the essential tax forms every worker needs to know. From the W-4 you fill out when hired to the Form 1040 you file with the IRS, this lesson clarifies the purpose of each document and shows how they fit together in the annual tax cycle.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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Ever wonder why your take-home pay is so much less than your salary?
This presentation breaks down the key payroll deductions impacting your pay stub. Students will learn the difference between gross and net pay and understand where their money goes, from funding national services with federal taxes to supporting retirees through FICA.
Click Here to download this presentation in Google Drive
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Learning to invest shouldn’t feel like a mystery — this lesson makes it clear. The Buying Your First Stock module guides students step-by-step from understanding what a stock is to making their first trade in a virtual portfolio.
Here’s what’s inside:
Intro to key vocabulary: stock, ticker symbol, portfolio
Activities for researching companies and generating trading ideas
Exercises to read and interpret stock quotes (bid, ask, volume, etc.)
A virtual trading exercise: students “buy” a stock through PersonalFinanceLab and compare results
Discussion prompts and group work to reflect on risk, strategy, and investment choices
Get the full lesson plan:
Comparison shopping is more than just finding the lowest price. It’s about knowing what features, warranties, and hidden costs are worth paying for. This lesson walks students through smart strategies to evaluate offers and make better purchase decisions.
In this lesson, you’ll find:
Discussion prompts to sharpen critical thinking about deals
Worksheets and exercises to compare products side by side
Activities examining warranty, quality, total cost, and value
Guidance on identifying hidden fees or deceptive marketing claims
Get the full lesson here:
Buying a car is exciting—but the real cost goes far beyond the sticker price. Our Owning a Car lesson walks students through everything from insurance and fuel to maintenance, registration, and depreciation, so they can make smarter decisions before they buy.
What’s inside:
Discussion prompts to unpack surprising “hidden” costs
Worksheets to calculate total cost of ownership
Activities on loans, interest, and insurance
Group research comparing different vehicle types
Check out the lesson here:
The PersonalFinanceLab Stock Game is a fun and interactive way for students to learn about investing and the stock market — without the risks of real money. Teachers use it in class to bring financial literacy to life, while students get hands-on experience trading stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds in a simulated environment.
Through the stock game, students:
It’s a classroom favorite because it makes abstract financial concepts practical and engaging.
We recently hosted a webinar where we walked through exactly how the Stock Game works, including setup tips and ways to tie it into your lessons. You can download the presentation slides here, and watch the recording below.
If you’d like help getting started, we’ve got you covered:
Check out our recent webinar that walks you through the many benefits of using PersonalFinanceLab in the classroom.
Our interactive Budget Game is a powerful teaching tool that helps students practice real-world money management skills in a safe, engaging environment. Students take on the role of managing their own monthly budget—balancing income, expenses, savings goals, and unexpected life events. Along the way, they learn critical financial literacy concepts like:
The game turns abstract lessons into hands-on experiences, giving students both confidence and practical skills they can use for life.
Watch the webinar below, and download the presentation slides here.
Missed the live webinar and have questions? Book a 1:1 demo with one of our dedicated account managers, and they’ll walk you through how to bring the Budget Game (and the rest of PersonalFinanceLab’s tools) into your classroom with ease.
We recently hosted a live webinar where we walked teachers through how to bring budgeting and investing to life in the classroom with PersonalFinanceLab.
In this session, we explored the Budget Game, designed to teach students how to balance quality of life with saving for the future—helping them learn not just to save, but to spend responsibly. We also showcased the Stock Market Game, where students can research, trade, and invest in real time without spending a dime, practicing responsible investing skills in a safe environment.
Teachers also got a tour of classroom resources and reporting tools, including customizable lessons and flexible platform settings to align with their classroom goals.
Missed the live webinar and have questions? Book a 1:1 demo with one of our dedicated account managers, and they’ll help you get started.
Are you looking for an engaging way to teach students about personal finance and investing? Our latest webinar, Introduction to the Best Budget and Stock Game for Schools, is here to help!
In this session, we show educators how to:
Don’t just teach finance—bring it to life. With our Budget and Stock Games, your students won’t just learn—they’ll experience real-world money management and investing, all in a fun, competitive, and fully trackable environment.
Missed the live webinar and still have questions?
No problem—our team has you covered! Click the link below to book a 1:1 demo with one of our dedicated account managers. They’ll walk you through everything, answer your questions, and help you get started with PersonalFinanceLab.
The Fall semester is already here, and we’re excited to announce our newest slate of updates!
Want a full walkthrough of these updates in action? Watch our recorded webinar where we demonstrate the new features, answers questions, and shares best practices for using them in class.
Car ownership is expensive – and not for everyone (especially students still in school)! Our latest update to the Budget Game allows teachers to set their class session to “Public Transit Mode” in place of car ownership.
See Details of the new Public Transit Mode!
PersonalFinanceLab’s Stock Game has always featured US corporate and treasury bonds, but our latest update also allows students to trade bonds from 5 other countries!
Learn More About Our International Bonds Support
Our Stock Game has been available in a variety of languages since we launched years ago, but until now the Budget Game and Learning Library have been only available in English. This Fall we are releasing our complete translation for our entire platform! Spanish and French will be available starting in September, with more languages being released throughout the Fall semester!
Learn More About Our Translations
The Budget Game just got a lot more fun – all 4 of our new Mini-Games launched at the end of the summer, and continually refined ahead of the Fall semester! These include our “Cafe Game” to earn extra money, our “Wealth Whiz Quiz” to prove financial concept mastery to earn bonus points, our “Comparison Shopping” grocery game to give students practice in finding the best deal, and our “Weekend Planning” game where students pack their schedule with activities that can fit their budget!
Learn More About Our Mini-Games
As part of our routine update to our Learning Library, all of our lessons have a make-over to their titles! The new titles make each lesson more engaging and applicable to the real world for students, but still maintain the same level of educational content and rigorous standards alignment.
Our Stock Comparison Tool is an exercise to teach students the basic of conducting investment research – what data to look for, how to track it, and how to compare two companies. We updated our tool to now include an Export button, allowing students to save their comparison for later – including making it easier to use in homework or other assignments they submit for grading!
Learn More About Our Stock Comparison Tool
We have more enhancements and updates also rolling out through the Fall semester – culminating in a major update to our Assignments system that we plan to launch for the Spring semester.
Happy Learning!
-The PFinLab Team
We are excited the newest addition to our Budgeting Game – Public Transit Mode!
One of the major expenses in the game is owning a car. Car ownership comes with several bills players need to pay (including a Car Insurance and Gasoline bill), plus various events throughout the game itself relating to other expenses involved in owning a car, like oil changes, parking tickets and repairing wear-and-tear.
However, car ownership is not necessarily part of the financial reality every student will face, especially while they are still going to college and only working part-time. This led us to release our new Public Transit Mode!
When a player is in Public Transit Mode, they will no longer be issued a bill for their Car Payment or Car Insurance payments, and in place of their “Gasoline” bill each month, they will need to pay for a monthly Public Transit Pass.
All events in the game pertaining to car ownership are instead replaced with trials and tribulations involving taking the bus or other mode of public transit – buses might be late (making them late for work), stranger spills coffee on their favorite shirt, or even needing to rent a car to visit distant relatives.
When setting up your next class session, you will have the option to choose how your students get around town – owning a car, or taking public transit:
This setting can be chosen independently for “Part Time” mode (while the player is a college student with a part-time job) and “Full Time” mode (after the player finishes school and is working at a regular job). This is a class-wide setting (not per-student) in order to make the game experience more consistent – and rankings more competitive – across your class.
When you choose “Public Transit Mode” for one of the game modes, the following other changes take affect:
Teachers may also want to set up the game such that the scenario is that the student’s parents may have given the car as a gift, or cover the car insurance payments while the student is in school – but still have their players own a car (with the other advantages and costs involved).
These custom scenarios can also be handled in the Budget Game. Teachers can set the “Car Payment” or “Car Insurance” bills to zero – which prevents them from being issued to students (and allows teachers to then lower the game hourly wages to be more realistic for a part-time worker).
This also applies to other bills in the game too – while Rent, TV/Internet, Groceries, and Cell Phone plan bills are required (as students make choices involving these bills at the start of the game), teachers can turn off any other bill by setting its cost to 0 – giving the flexibility of a simplified game for younger students or having a bigger difference in game difficulty between part-time and full-time mode.
We hope you are as excited as we are to get your class up and running!
-The PFinLab Team
PersonalFinanceLab is excited to announce the addition of International Bonds to our bonds trading simulation!
Until now, PersonalFinanceLab has allowed students to trade a wide range of US corporate and treasury bonds – based on the settings chosen by their instructor when setting up their class stock game. Our new addition adds an additional selection of corporate and government bonds from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Students can choose between countries with a new “Exchange” selector that has been added to the Bonds trading pit.
Like with Stocks, teachers can choose which Bonds exchanges are allowed for their class. The available bonds shares the same allowed exchanges as stocks – so enabling French stocks trading now also allows French Bond trading (if your class allows bonds at all).
We hope this brings an exciting new dimension to building a fixed-income portfolio for classes!
Happy Trading!
-The PFinLab Team
PersonalFinanceLab’s stock game has been available in a variety of languages since inception, but until now our Budget Game and Curriculum Library have been supported exclusively in English.
As one of our biggest enhancements for Fall 2025, we are excited to announce full translation across our entire platform* – including the entirety of or Budgeting Game and Assignments!
This change will be a gradual roll-out over the course of the Fall 2025 semester, with incremental updates supported by feedback from teachers and students.
The first additional languages we will be supporting are French and Spanish in the initial roll-out. Before the launch of the Spring Semester, we will also be introducing translations in Arabic and Simplified Chinese. Additional languages will be supported in the future, but made available based on school demand.
Happy Learning!
-The PFinLab Team
*Translation applies to text-based assets across the platform. Most images that feature text will continue to only be available in English. Video content will be updated with closed captions, with captions available in the supported translations. 3rd party assets, such as our Research Tool and Stock Screener Tool, will continue to only be available in English, as we do not have direct control over their functionality.
The PersonalFinanceLab Budget Game is a unique resource for schools to teach students about money management in the real world. As one of the cornerstone decisions students make each “week” of the simulation is how they are going to spend their weekend, through our student-driven “Weekend Choice” mechanic.
Besides simply choosing what area students want to focus on during each weekend of the game, each choice also triggers a unique Mini-Game to help really drive up the classroom engagement and keep students as part of the action!
Students choose to “Work Extra Hours” when they need to earn extra cash to make their budgets solvent for the month. In the real world, the equivalent would be “gig work”, but for simplification our game allows participants to pick up an extra shift bussing tables at a cafe.
Extra money is earned by serving up orders at the cafe, and taking the dirty dishes back to the kitchen afterwards. The game counts down, and cash is earned based on how many orders can be filled before the time runs out.
Learn More About The Cafe Game
“Studying” during the budget game has two impacts for how the long-term game plays out for participants. First, neglecting to study for too long will result in failed exams – and expensive tutors. But students who choose to frequently “Study” while they are still in school (or its equivalent, “Professional Development” while a full-time worker) will gradually earn raises on their job – permanently boosting their paycheck for a long-term advantage.
The Wealth Whiz Quiz captures this aspect of Studying – students are thrust into the spotlight in a 10-question game show covering financial topics.
Correctly answering questions gives students bonus points that directly apply to their game score – while getting questions wrong can hurt their score instead!
Learn More About The Wealth Whiz Quiz
Choosing to Socialize on the weekend is a great way for students to boost their Quality of Life – and our Time Management mini-game lets them try to pack their Saturday full of fun – on a budget!
In the Time Management game, students are presented with a variety of activities they can choose to embark on with their friends. Different activities are only available at certain times of day, and are located in different neighborhoods across the city where they live. Activities take up time and cost money – and travel time can be significant when travelling far between neighborhoods based on their distance on the map.
Players choose which events they can fit in their schedule (and budget), and earn Quality of Life points based on how much they can pack in while still meeting their monthly savings goals.
Learn More About The Time Management Game
Choosing to take care of household chores is a good way to save money in the long run – neglecting too long can result in fines from your landlord, a cockroach infestation, or worse. Taking care of chores also launches our Comparison Grocery Shopping Game!
In the comparison shopping game, the player is stopping by the grocery store to pick up some items on their shopping list. They need to buy 3 different types of items, and each item has 3 alternatives to choose from. Each alternative has a different quantity (be it units per package or net weight), a “Quality Score” indicating their perceived quality of the item, and a cost (which may be on sale!).
Players are challenged to try to find the best deal on each item, with Quality of Life points earned based on the Quality and Quantity of each purchase, plus bonus points if they were able to choose the “best deal”!
Learn More About The Comparison Shopping Game
The mini-games are just one of the cornerstones that make the PersonalFinanceLab Budget Game the most engaging financial simulation for students!
Happy Learning!
-The PFinLab Team
Part of Our Summer 2025 Content Update
We’re excited to announce a fresh new look for your favorite PersonalFinanceLab assignments! As part of our Summer 2025 Content Update, we’ve updated all assignment titles to make them more engaging, easier to understand, and more classroom-friendly.
Whether you’re assigning a budgeting game, stock market simulation, or personal finance module, you’ll now see updated titles designed to better reflect the learning goals and keep students interested from the start.
Good news: If you’ve copied assignments from previous semesters, they’ll still work with the new titles—no extra steps needed.
Expect to see titles like “Building Wealth” transformed into “A Strategy to Build Wealth, Not Debt” or “Car Insurance” become “Car Insurance: How to Lower Your Rates.” It’s all part of helping students better connect with the content right from the first click.
These updates are just one of the many ways we’re working to make PersonalFinanceLab even better for the upcoming school year. Stay tuned—there’s more to come!
| Old Title | New Title |
| Lesson – Lesson – Break Free From Money Stress with a Budget | Lesson – Lesson – Break Free From Money Stress with a Budget |
| Lesson – Proven Techniques to Stop Overspending | Proven Techniques to Stop Overspending |
| Lesson – What is Money? | Lesson – What is Money? |
| A Strategy to Build Wealth, Not Debt | |
| Use the Compound Interest Calculator | Watch How Your Savings Could Grow (A lesson on compound interest) |
| Lesson – Achieve Financial Goals with a Spending Plan | Achieve Financial Goals with a Spending Plan |
| Lesson – Pay Yourself First: A Simple Yet Powerful Way to Build Wealth | A Simple yet Powerful Way to Build Wealth |
| Preparing for Spending Shocks | How to Prepare for Unexpected Expenses |
| Financial Records and Receipts | Receipts: What to Keep and Why |
| Lesson – How Do You Stop Impulse Purchases? | How Do You Stop Impulse Purchases? |
| Managing Bills | The Art of Juggling Many Bills in a Pinch |
| Lesson – Evaluating Big-Ticket Purchases | Evaluating Big-Ticket Purchases |
| Lesson – The Cost of Raising a Family | The Cost of Raising a Family |
| Use the Net Worth Calculator | Get a Snapshot of Your Financial Health (A lesson on Net Worth) |
| Use the Buy vs Lease Calculator | Rent or Buy: Which is Right for You? |
| Use the Home Budgeting Calculator | Find Out Your Monthly Home Budget |
| Lesson – A Beginner’s Guide to Borrowing Wisely | A Beginner’s Guide to Borrowing Wisely |
| Lesson – Credit Cards: Terms, Fees, and More | Credit Cards: Terms, Fees, and More |
| Buying a Car | The Car Buying Checklist |
| Good Debt, Bad Debt | How to Use Debt to Your Advantage |
| Use the Car Loans Calculator | Calculate Your Car Loan Payments |
| Lesson – What to Do When You Need Money Fast | What to Do When You Need Money Fast |
| Student Loans | Financing Your Education |
| Lesson – Mortgage Options for First-Time Homebuyers | Mortgage Options for First-Time Homebuyers |
| Use the Credit Card Payments Calculator | Calculate the True Cost of Credit Card Debt |
| Lesson – What Your Credit Report Says About You | What Your Credit Report Says About You |
| Lesson – How Borrowers Manage Personal Debt | How Borrowers Manage Personal Debt |
| Lesson – Getting Help With Debt Repayment | Getting Help With Debt Repayment |
| Lesson – Debt Relief: Is Consolidation the Answer? | Debt Relief: Is Consolidation the Answer? |
| Debt Negotiation | How to Negotiate With Creditors |
| Debt Snowball and Avalanche | Debt Snowball and Avalanche |
| Lesson – What Is Bankruptcy? | What Is Bankruptcy? |
| Lesson – What’s in Your Compensation Package? | What’s in Your Compensation Package? |
| Workplace Benefits | What Benefits to Look for in a Job Offer |
| Career Development | Planning Your Career Path |
| Employer and Employee Rights and Responsibilities | The Ultimate Employee Guide |
| Unemployment and Other Programs | Public Financial Assistance Programs |
| Lesson – Choosing the Best Banking Option for You | Choosing the Best Banking Option for You |
| Lesson – How Debit Cards Work | How Debit Cards Work |
| Automatic Payments | Automatic Payments: Convenience vs. Risk |
| Taxation Overview | Tax Basics You Need to Know |
| Tax Filing and the Form 1040 | Income Tax Filing Tips & Tricks |
| Practice Filing The Form 1040 | Get Practice Filing a Sample Tax Return |
| Lesson – Sales Tax: Who Pays, Collects, and Why? | Sales Tax: Who Pays, Collects, and Why? |
| Biggest Mistakes of Job Seekers | Biggest Mistakes of Job Seekers |
| Acing Job Interviews | Acing Job Interviews |
| How To Choose an Internship | Are Internships Worth It? |
| Using Keywords In Your Resume | How to Get Past Resume Software |
| What is Wealth? | What is Wealth? |
| Charitable Giving | A Guide to Effective Charitable Donations |
| Preparing for Retirement | The Secret to a Comfortable Retirement |
| Use the Saving to be a Millionaire Calculator | Crack the Code to Becoming a Millionaire |
| Consumer Rights and Responsibilities | Protect Yourself as a Consumer |
| Classifying Products and Services | Why You Buy What You Buy |
| Lesson – Tax Credits & Deductions You Need to Know | Tax Credits & Deductions You Need to Know |
| Lesson – Uncovering Hidden Income Taxes You Owe | Uncovering Hidden Income Taxes You Owe |
| When to Hire a Tax Professional | Do You Need a Tax Professional? |
| What Makes a Contract Valid? | The 6 Elements of a Binding Contract |
| Renter’s Insurance | What’s Not Covered in Renter’s Insurance? |
| Home Owner’s Insurance | What Damage Does Home Insurance Cover? |
| Rental Agreements and Homeowner’s Associations | Rules for Renters & Homeowners |
| Lesson – Car Insurance: How to Lower Your Rates | Car Insurance: How to Lower Your Rates |
| Lesson – Life Insurance: The Ultimate Safety Net | Life Insurance: The Ultimate Safety Net |
| What Are Annuities | Is an Annuity Right for You? |
| Disability Insurance | Don’t Let Disability Derail Your Finances |
| Lesson – Why Health Insurance is So Expensive | Why Health Insurance is So Expensive |
| Protecting Yourself Against Fraud | How to Avoid Identity Theft, Scams and Fraud |
| Using Spreadsheets – Comparing Car Financing Options | Find Your Best Car Loan Deal |
| Lesson – Tame Your Financial Paperwork | Tame Your Financial Paperwork |
| Reconciling Accounts | Balance Your Books in 10-Minutes |
| Tax Audits | What Is a Tax Audit? |
| Work VS Study | Go to College or Start Working? |
| Simple and Living Wills | Who Gets Your Stuff When You’re Gone? |
| Lesson – Starting a Business 101 | Starting a Business 101 |
| Income Taxes in Canada | The Basics of Filing Taxes in Canada |
| Pay Yourself First in Canada | #1 Rule for Building Wealth in Canada |
| Canadian Credit Reports | Your Canadian Credit Report |
| Planning for Retirement in Canada | A Guide to Retiring in Canada |
| Types of Canadian Insurance | Insurance Basics Everyone Should Know |
| Protecting Against Fraud in Canada | How to Spot a Scam in Canada |
| Bankruptcy in Canada | How Bankruptcy Ruins Your Credit |
| Lesson – A Beginner’s Guide to Investing in Stocks | A Beginner’s Guide to Investing in Stocks |
| What is a Ticker Symbol? | Why Investors Need to Use Ticker Symbols |
| Getting (and Understanding) Stock Quotes | How to Read a Stock Quote like a Pro |
| Why Invest in Stocks vs. Just Saving? | |
| Building a Diversified Portfolio | Why You Should Diversify Your Portfolio |
| Getting Trading Ideas | 5 Ways to Get Trading Ideas |
| Navigating The Site | How to Navigate The Platform? |
| Order Types | How to Use Order Types? |
| Trading Stocks Tutorial | How to Trade Stocks? |
| Lesson – A Simple Explanation of ETFs | A Simple Explanation of ETFs |
| Lesson – The Pros and Cons of Mutual Funds | The Pros and Cons of Mutual Funds |
| Trading Mutual Funds Tutorial | How to Trade Mutual Funds? |
| What are Bonds? | Getting Started with Bond Investing |
| Trading Bonds Tutorial | How to Trade Bonds? |
| Understanding Margin Trading | Margin & Short Selling Explained |
| Lesson – Finding the Right Brokerage Account | How to Choose a Brokerage Account? |
| Investment Research | How to do Investing Research? |
| How to Choose and Compare Stocks | How to Choose Stocks Strategically |
| Lesson – Decoding What Moves The Market | Decoding What Moves The Market |
| Lesson – How to Read an Income Statement | Lesson – How to Read an Income Statement |
| Lesson – How to Read a Balance Sheet | What a Company Owns vs. Owes (A lesson on Balance Sheets) |
| What Is A Cash Flow Statement | The Cash Flow Statement Explained |
| Lesson – How to Develop an Investing Strategy | How to Develop an Investing Strategy |
| Lesson – Want to Work in Finance? | Want to Work in Finance? |
| What are Cryptocurrencies? | What are Cryptocurrencies? |
| Use the Investment Return Calculator | Model Your Financial Future (A Lesson on Investment Growth) |
| Use the Net Present Value Calculator | Net Present Value (NPV) Calculator |
| Basic Research and Comparing Stocks | How to Research & Compare Stocks |
As educators, we know how important it is to prepare our students for the real world; and that includes handling money wisely. Credit cards can be tricky for young people, but with the right information, they can learn to use them responsibly and avoid common mistakes.
That’s why we’re excited to share this easy-to-understand Credit Cards lesson from Personal Finance Lab. It breaks down everything from how interest works to why credit scores matter, all in a way that makes sense for students.
Why you’ll want to use this lesson:
Check out the full lesson here:
Graduation is a thrilling milestone—but what comes after the tassel flip? Whether students are heading into the job market or continuing education, planning ahead is key. That’s why the “What’s After Graduation?” lesson plan from PersonalFinanceLab is such a powerful tool.
Clear options laid out: The first part breaks down the two main paths—entering the workforce immediately or pursuing further education and how each affects future career opportunities.
Hands-on career exploration: Students dive into activities like identifying “Dream Jobs,” researching required education and skills, and analyzing career clusters to understand their fit.
Interactive budgeting simulation: The “Budget Game” simulates real-world financial choices immediately post-graduation.
Engaging classroom activities: With group discussions (“Work vs Study” decision-making), quizzes, and guided presentations, the lesson supports both independent and collaborative learning.
Like what you see? This is just one of many financial literacy lesson plans we offer—browse the full collection in our Resource Library!
Time To Read:
This project comes recommended from Leesa Hudak from Bow High School in New Hampshire. Learn more about Leesa’s classes in our case study!
Students will build and manage a stock portfolio over the course of a semester, making investment decisions based on research, market trends, and risk assessment.
Project Guidelines:
20 points:
1. Your portfolio return must be within 5% points of the S & P 500 by the end of the competition. The 5% is based on the starting value of the S & P (5, 608.36) vs the ending value of the S & P. Portfolios that BEAT the S & P 500 will receive 1 point for every 3% that the ROI is greater than the S & P
Your portfolio must be within the parameters of the competition in order to receive ANY of these points.
This portion of the project is time sensitive and, therefore, a reassessment is not possible.
2. Weekly Check-Ins: NOTE: Weekly check-ins will be done throughout the semester as homework assignments and are not part of the project grade.
5 points per week: for staying within the parameters (weekly check in to check cash balance and minimum of 5 stocks).
Weekly check in will take place at the beginning of the last class of the week.
Check out our investing lesson plans that include Leesa’s Stock Portfolio Project, and other hands-on individual and group activities you can use with your class.
If you want to give Leesa’s class project a try, book a demo with our sales team to learn more about utilizing PersonalFinanceLab in your classes!
Time To Read:
Opportunity cost is one of the most essential concepts in economics and personal finance—and one of the most useful for students to understand early on. To help bring this idea to life in your classroom, we’ve created a downloadable lesson plan that’s simple to implement and built for engagement.
Inside this resource, you’ll find:
This lesson is ideal for middle and high school students, and it aligns with national standards for personal finance and economics.
Whether you’re introducing the concept for the first time or looking to supplement your existing curriculum, this resource is a great way to help students think more deeply about the trade-offs they make every day.
Enjoyed this lesson? Check out our full library of classroom-ready resources—perfect for bringing personal finance and economics to life in your class.
