Personal Finance — Money, Choices and Independence is a one-semester course built to meet California’s personal finance graduation requirement (AB 2927), for students in grades 9-12.
Four units, twenty lessons: Earning and the Money Mind (paychecks, taxes and the psychology of money), Banking, Budgeting and Protection (accounts, a California independent-living budget, fraud and identity theft, charitable giving), Credit, Loans and Paying for College (credit scores, the math of debt, FAFSA and the California Dream Act, Cal Grant and CalKIDS, student loans), and Insurance, Investing and the Long Game (insurance in California, compound growth, investing, retirement accounts and CalSavers), closing with a personal financial plan each student presents and defends.
Students compute every number they rely on. No product is endorsed; students learn to evaluate any offer against criteria they can state.
Sources: SLS-authored content adapted from the SLS JAG-MO Missouri Personal Finance course; federal and California government publications (public domain or official); OpenStax Principles of Finance (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; referenced, not reproduced) for reference.
Curriculum
- 4 Sections
- 20 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Unit 1: Earning and the Money Mind5
- Unit 2: Banking, Budgeting and Protection5
- 2.1Choosing Where Your Money Lives — Banks, Credit Unions and Fees50 mins
- 2.2Numeracy Lab — A Zero-Based Budget for Independent Living in California50 mins
- 2.3Decision Lab — How Scams and Identity Theft Work on People50 mins
- 2.4Workshop — Giving With Purpose: Charitable Giving as a Budget Decision50 mins
- 2.5Performance Task — First-Apartment Budget and Protection Plan150 mins
- Unit 3: Credit, Loans and Paying for College5
- 3.1How Credit Works — Reports, Scores and the Price of Trust50 mins
- 3.2Numeracy Lab — The Math of Debt: APR, Minimum Payments and Amortization50 mins
- 3.3Decision Lab — Paying for College and Career Training in California50 mins
- 3.4Workshop — Student Loans: Federal, Private, Repayment and Forgiveness50 mins
- 3.5Performance Task — Postsecondary Financing Plan150 mins
- Unit 4: Insurance, Investing and the Long Game5
- 4.1Managing Risk — Health, Auto, Renters and Life Insurance in California50 mins
- 4.2Numeracy Lab — Compound Growth and the Value of Time50 mins
- 4.3Decision Lab — Stocks, Bonds, Funds and Speculation50 mins
- 4.4Workshop — Retirement Accounts, Pensions and CalSavers50 mins
- 4.5Performance Task — Personal Financial Plan and Defense200 mins
Instructor
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