Financial Literacy for High School Students | Free Course (2024)

FAQs

How to learn financial literacy for free? ›

The Khan Academy Financial Literacy course is self-paced and completely free. The course is made up of multiple units, each with its own lessons, covering topics like budgeting, saving, credit, investments, insurance, taxes, scams, fraud and more.

FDIC Money Smart for Young People features four free age-appropriate curricula that promote financial understanding and are specifically designed for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade educators. Each curriculum includes: An educator guide, student handouts, and powerpoint slides.

Students learn wise debt management practices and avoid expensive borrowing behaviors. They also explore savings options like savings accounts, money market, and Certificates of Deposit. Students learn what a loan is and why it is used to finance purchases.

Key aspects of financial literacy include knowing how to create a budget, plan for retirement, manage debt, and track personal spending. Financial literacy can be obtained through reading books, listening to podcasts, subscribing to financial content, or talking to a financial professional.

Tips for teaching financial literacy to students

Financial concepts can feel abstract. Make them tangible by connecting them to students' lives. Use case studies and simulations or even have students create mock budgets based on realistic scenarios like renting an apartment or buying a phone.

High schools might avoid teaching personal finance due to several reasons, including the perceived lack of relevance to students' current lives, the gap between financial literacy and financial responsibility, and the practical constraints of traditional teaching methods.

EVERFI: Financial Literacy for High School is a digital education program that teaches students how to make wise financial decisions to promote financial well-being over their lifetime.

Wunder said six is the age where kids start being able to grasp some money concepts. “This is the age children are starting to understand math at school and are able to comprehend the consequences of 'if it's gone, it's gone' and setting aside money for things they really want,” he said.

The 50-30-20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should dedicate 20% to savings, leaving 30% to be spent on things you want but don't necessarily need.

How do you raise a financially literate child? ›

Keep in mind that teaching these skills to your children is a process. Six key topic areas to build upon are: setting goals, earning money, spending money wisely through budgeting, understanding the value of money as you save and invest, using credit responsibly, and protecting assets.

With the signing, California becomes the 26th state to require high school students to take a stand-alone, one-semester financial literacy course.

As of March 2023, about 24% of students go to schools that uphold the “gold standard” of personal finance education, according to NGPF, where it's both required and comprehensive.

For better or worse, most financial education takes place at home. But by and large, Americans aren't great at discussing money matters, so many people end up learning via the school of hard knocks.