Teaching Personal Financial Literacy to Students

If you will be teaching personal financial literacy to students, you may need to follow prescribed education standards.

Your own experience participating in this course will help highlight the key concepts and learning outcomes that you may need to achieve.

Reflect on your own learning in this course to identify concepts that you may have found particularly challenging. Consider ways to help your students learn these concepts — whether through the use of videos, activities, simulation, or other methods.  

Note that GoVenture LIFE & MONEY is available for use by teachers with their students — find out more at GoVentureLife.com 


To help with your planning, below are lists of the topics covered in the eWorkbook and Learning Guide.  

  1. Print each list or copy it to a document or spreadsheet.
  2. Next to each topic identify if the topic is required by your Education Standards.
  3. Next to each required topic identify the teaching method you will use. 
  4. Next to that, identify the amount of time you will devote to the topic, keeping in mind that that the total time must be less than or equal to the total curriculum time (including homework time) you have available for your course.


The above will being to form the structure of your curriculum.



eWorkbook Topics (Summary)


1. Your Life Goals

1.1 Life Plan

1.2 Goal Setting

1.3 Needs and Wants

1.4 Your Money Personality


2. Spending Money

2.1 Lifestyle

2.2 Health

2.3 Home

2.4 Commuting

2.5 Buying and Selling

2.6 Family

2.7 Education

2.8 Vacation

2.9 Donations

2.10 Retirement


3. Making Money

3.1 Job and Career

3.2 Managing a Paycheck

3.3 Saving

3.4 Gambling

3.5 Time Value of Money

3.6 Economy

3.7 Risk and Return

3.8 Return on Investment

3.9 Rate of Return

3.10 Investing

3.11 Retirement Plans

3.12 Taxes


4. Managing and Protecting Money

4.1 Paying Bills

4.2 Banking

4.3 Risk

4.4 Insurance

4.5 Consumer Protection

4.6 Bankruptcy


5. Borrowing Money

5.1 Debt and Interest

5.2 Credit Report and Score

5.3 Credit Cards and Revolving Credit

5.4 Loans

6. Monitoring Your Money

6.1 Budget and Cash Flow

6.2 Net Worth, Assets, Liabilities



Learning Guide Topics (Detailed)


1. You

1.1 What Do You Want Out of Life?

1.2 Goal Setting

1.3 Needs and Wants

1.4 The Economics of Spending

1.5 Activities


2. Your Personal Finances

2.1 Cash Flow

2.2 Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (Equity)

2.3 Sources of Income

2.4 Financial Planning

2.5 Activities


3. Your Assets

3.1 Cash

3.2 Investment Securities

3.3 Capital Assets

3.4 Investment Property or Personal Use Property

3.5 Activities


4. Your Liabilities

4.1 Borrowing, Debt, Loans, and Credit — What Are They?

4.2 Why Do People Borrow?

4.3 Interest Payments

4.4 Credit Ratings

4.5 Revolving Credit and Loans

4.6 Rents and Leases

4.7 Family Loans and Loan Guarantees

4.8 Consumption, Income, and Wealth Taxes

4.9 Activities


5. Your Lifestyle

5.1 Basic Living Expenses

5.2 Home

5.3 Life Partner

5.4 Children and Dependents

5.5 Education

5.6 Job and Career

5.7 Commuting

5.8 Automobile

5.9 Health

5.10 Vacation

5.11 Retirement

5.12 Activities


6. Managing Your Assets and Liabilities

6.1 Setting Goals and Planning

6.2 Monitoring Your Financial Health

6.3 Insuring Your Life and Assets

6.4 Living and Retiring Comfortably

6.5 Charitable Contributions

6.6 Estate Planning

6.7 The Financial System

6.8 Cash Management Tools

6.9 Activities


7. Key Investment Concepts

7.1 Time Value of Money

7.2 Return on Investment (ROI)

7.3 Rate of Return

7.4 Risk and Return

7.5 Economic Influences

7.6 Economic Indicators

7.7 Activities


8. Making Your Money Grow

8.1 Definition of Saving, Investing and Gambling

8.2 Savings and Debt Investments

8.3 Equity Investments

8.4 Gambling

8.5 Qualified Retirement Plans

8.6 Summary

8.7 Activities


9. The Investment Timetable

9.1 How Your Investment Strategy May Change Over Time

9.2 Activities


10. Calculating the Return on Investment

10.1 Comparing Investments and Rates of Return

10.2 Simple Rates of Return

10.3 Compound Rates of Return

10.4 Activities


11. Banking

11.1 Checking Accounts.

11.2 Savings Accounts

11.3 Term Deposits

11.4 Electronic Banking Services

11.5 Risks and Benefits — Bank Accounts

11.6 Activities


12. Money Market Instruments

12.1 Money Market Securities

12.2 Money Markets

12.3 Buying and Selling Money Market Instruments

12.4 Risks and Benefits — Money Market Instruments

12.5 Activities


13. Bonds

13.1 What is a Bond?

13.2 Return on Bonds

13.3 Why People Buy Bonds

13.4 Bond Characteristics

13.5 Special Types of Bonds

13.6 Bond Ratings

13.7 Buying and Selling Bonds

13.8 Risks and Benefits — Bonds

13.9 Activities


14. Stocks

14.1 Why Companies Sell Stock

14.2 Why People Buy Stock

14.3 Which Companies Issue Stock

14.4 Issuing and Owning Stock

14.5 Classes of Stock

14.6 Stock Options and Warrants

14.7 Dilution and Stock Splits

14.8 Categories of Stock

14.9 Buying and Selling in the Stock Market

14.10 Risk and Benefits — Stocks

14.11 Activities


15. Mutual Funds

15.1 Types of Mutual Funds.

15.2 Buying and Selling Mutual Funds

15.3 Ownership

15.4 Risks and Benefits — Mutual Funds

15.5 Activities

16. Other Equity Investments

16.1 Derivatives

16.2 Commodities

16.3 Precious Metals

16.4 Capital Assets as Investments

16.5 Risks and Benefits — Other Equity Investments

16.6 Activities


17. Annuities and Types of Life Insurances as Investments

17.1 Annuities

17.2 Term Insurance

17.3 Whole Life Insurance

17.4 Term Insurance versus Whole Life Insurance

17.5 Activities


18. Insuring and Protecting

18.1 Risk Management

18.2 Insurance Basics

18.3 Types of Insurance

18.4 Consumer Protection

18.5 Activities


19. Credit and Borrowing

19.1 Purpose and Importance of Credit

19.2 Sources of Credit

19.3 Types of Credit

19.4 Creditworthiness

19.5 Impacts of Credit Decisions

19.6 Credit Report and Score

19.7 Cost of Borrowing

19.8 Managing Debt

19.9 Bankruptcy

19.10 Credit Laws

19.11 Activities


20. Education and Training

20.1 Educational and Career Opportunities

20.2 Factors in Choosing a Career

20.3 Evaluating Benefits and Costs of Different Choices

20.4 The Relationship Between Education, Economics, and Earning

20.5 Paying for Education & Training

20.6 Activities


21. Taxes

21.1 Direct and Indirect Taxes

21.2 Sales Tax

21.3 Income Tax

21.4 Real Estate Tax (Property Tax)

21.5 Estate Tax

21.6 Tax Shelters

21.7 Activities


22. Managing a Paycheck and Taxes

22.1 Wages and Income

22.2 Tax Deductions

22.3 Gross and Taxable Income

22.4 Tax Documentation

22.5 Activities

Complete and Continue