Personal Finance
Wisconsin Personal Finance Standards Alignment
Personal Finance has been a requirement in high schools across Wisconsin since 2017, which fuses concepts from financial literacy with some basic economic principles.
Our Personal Finance curriculum covers each of the Wisconsin standards in detail, with additional supplementary materials (not listed) covering more personal finance and economic concepts that can be tailored for your class.
Activity Type Key
- Articles:
- Videos:
- Interactive Calculators/Mini Games:
- Comprehensive Tools:
- Includes built-in assessment:
Relating Income and Education
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| A.1 Understand how career choice, education, skills, entrepreneurship, and economic conditions affect income. | Biggest Mistakes of Job Seekers | |
| Foundations of Marketing | ||
| Analyzing Consumer Behavior | ||
| Career Center | ||
| A.2 Understand the sources of income and alternative resources. | Income and Compensation | |
| Cash Flow | ||
| A.3 Explain how income affects lifestyle choices and spending decisions. | Spending and Savings Plans | |
| Income and Compensation | ||
| A.4 Explain how taxes and employee benefits relate to disposable income. | Tax Filing and the 1040 EZ | |
| Payroll Best Practices | ||
| Income and Compensation | ||
| Common Tax Deductions |
Money Management
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| B.1 Demonstrate ability to use money management skills and strategies. | Spending and Savings Plans | |
| Budgeting | ||
| Budget Game | ||
| B.2 Understand the purposes and services of financial institutions. | Spending and Savings Plans | |
| Family Planning | ||
| Car Loan Calculator | ||
| Home Budgeting Calculator | ||
| Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Loans | ||
| Reconciling accounts | ||
| B.3 Develop a financial vision based on an examination of personal values. | Spending and Savings Plans | |
| Budgeting | ||
| Budget Game | ||
| B.4 Understand the history, purposes, roles, and responsibilities related to taxation. | Preparing For Retirement | |
| Tax Filing and the 1040 EZ | ||
| Common Tax Deductions | ||
| Common Tax Additions | ||
| Tax Audits | ||
| When to hire a tax professional |
Credit and Debt Management
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| C.1 Identify and evaluate credit products and services. | Spending and Savings Plans | |
| Planning long term purchases | ||
| Managing Debt | ||
| budgeting | ||
| Short-Term Financing | ||
| C.2 Identify and compare sources of credit. | Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Loans | |
| Credit cards | ||
| Debit Cards | ||
| Using Credit | ||
| C.3 Identify and evaluate interest rates, fees, and other credit charges. | Credit cards | |
| Using Credit | ||
| Reconciling Accounts | ||
| Debit Cards | ||
| Mortgages | ||
| C.4 Interpret credit sources and reports. | Credit Reports | |
| Debt Management Services | ||
| C.5 Calculate the cost of borrowing. | Short-Term Financing | |
| Using Credit | ||
| Budget Game | ||
| C.6 Explain the rights and responsibilities of buyers and sellers under consumer protection laws | Debt Management Services | |
| C.7 Understand how to leverage debt. | Using Credit | |
| Budget Game | ||
| Corporate Debt | ||
| C.8 Describe the implications of bankruptcy. | Bankruptcy | |
| “C.9 Analyze the pros and cons of high cost alternative financial services. “ |
Short-Term Financing | |
| Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Loans | ||
| Managing Bills | ||
| Debt Negotiation | ||
| Consolidating Debt | ||
| Debt Management Services |
Planning, Saving, and Investing
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| D.1 Apply strategies for creating wealth/ building assets. | Compound Interest Calculator | |
| Stock Game | ||
| What is an ETF? | ||
| Investing Strategies | ||
| What is a Stock? | ||
| Investing 101 | ||
| What is Wealth? | ||
| Building Wealth | ||
| Family Planning | ||
| D.2 Match appropriate financial services and products with specified goals. | Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Loans | |
| Credit Card Payments Calculator | ||
| Investment Return Calculator | ||
| Saving to be a millionaire calculator | ||
| What is a Stock? | ||
| What is a Mutual Fund? | ||
| What is an ETF? | ||
| What are Bonds | ||
| What are Options? | ||
| Stock Game | ||
| Investing 101 | ||
| D.3 Describe the relationships between saving and investing | Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Loans | |
| Investing Strategies | ||
| D.4 Apply the concepts of supply and demand to stock market price changes. | Supply and demand examples in the stock market | |
| What is Supply? | ||
| What is Demand? | ||
| Understanding Price Movements | ||
| Making the most of margins | ||
| Stock Game | ||
| D.5 Demonstrate ability to use decision-making processes in making financial decisions related to planning, saving, and investing. | What is a Stock? | |
| What is a Mutual Fund? | ||
| What is an ETF? | ||
| What are Bonds | ||
| Investing Strategies | ||
| Budget Game |
Becoming A Critical Consumer
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| E.1 Understand the impact of contextual factors associated with consumer decision making. (e.g., social, historical, political, family, cultural, philosophical). | Analyzing Consumer Behavior | |
| E.2 Investigate the purposes, strategies, and effects of various business practices, including sales schemes or scams. | Planning and Evaluating Business Advertising | |
| E.3 Understand the cost of interest rates and fees associated with financial services. | Importance of Interest Rates | |
| E.4 Understand that verbal contracts are as binding as written agreements. | What makes a contract valid? | |
| E.5 Identify sources of consumer protection and assistance including public institutions and private organizations (professionals, publications, and internet). | Unemployment and other programs | |
| Debt Management Services | ||
| E.6 Examine critically the impact of socio- cultural norms and demographics related to money, saving, and spending. | What is Money? | |
| Researching Spending | ||
| Supply and demand examples in the stock market |
Consumer Financial Responsibility
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| F.1 Understand factors that affect citizen financial decisions and actions. | Budget Game | |
| F.2 Practice skills related to fiscal responsibility and personal decision making. | Government impact on the economy | |
| F.3 Integrate and apply financial knowledge, attitudes, and skills. | Government impact on the economy | |
| Budget Game | ||
| F.4 Understand the interdependent role of government, business, consumer, and personal finance in the economy. | Payroll Best Practices | |
| Why is there Scarcity? | ||
| Comparative Economic Systems – Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism | ||
| F.5 Examine the impact that government, business, consumer, and financial decisions and actions have on the individual, family, community, society, and world. | Why is there Scarcity? | |
| Comparative Economic Systems – Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism | ||
| Government impact on the economy |
Risk Management
| Standard | Activity | Type of Activity |
|---|---|---|
| G.1 Understand the nature of personal financial risk and the importance of protecting against financial loss. | Risk | |
| Integrating Risk Management | ||
| G.2 Examine the need for and value of various types of insurance (such as health, property, life, disability, and liability) within the life cycle. | Types of Insurance | |
| Home Owner’s Insurance | ||
| Renter’s Insurance | ||
| Car Insurance | ||
| Health Insurance | ||
| G.3 Integrate and apply concepts related to personal financial risk, protection from loss, and financial planning. | Family Planning | |
| Health Insurance | ||
| Life Insurance | ||
| Integrating Risk Management | ||
| Investing Strategies | ||
| Risk |