Scope and sequence · Practical
Personal Finance & Investing
A high-school course in earning, budgeting, borrowing, insuring, paying taxes, investing and giving, built on true stories from Benjamin Franklin’s almanac and John Wesley’s sermon to the bank runs of 1933, the South Sea Bubble and John Bogle’s first index fund, each one worked out with real arithmetic and practiced on a real household plan.
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What to cover
44 of 50 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: Work and Income
- MUST COVER 1.1 Vocation and Career: Work as a Calling · exam
- MUST COVER 1.2 The Paycheck: Gross Pay, Net Pay and Withholding · exam
- MUST COVER 1.3 First Jobs and Résumés: Andrew Carnegie’s Climb · exam
- MUST COVER 1.4 Self-Employment Income: The Merchant Who Keeps His Own Books · exam
- MUST COVER 1.5 Benjamin Franklin’s The Way to Wealth · exam
Unit 2: Budgeting, Saving and Giving
- MUST COVER 2.1 The Budget: Rockefeller’s Ledger A · exam
- MUST COVER 2.2 Emergency Funds: Joseph’s Storehouses · exam
- MUST COVER 2.3 Tithing and Generosity: The Cheerful Giver · exam
- MUST COVER 2.4 Spending Decisions and Contentment · exam
- MUST COVER 2.5 Wesley’s “The Use of Money”: Gain, Save, Give · exam
Unit 3: Banking and Payments
- MUST COVER 3.1 How Banks Work: Henry Duncan’s Parish Bank · exam
- MUST COVER 3.2 Checking and Savings: The Clearing House and the Register · exam
- MUST COVER 3.3 Bank Runs and the FDIC, 1933 · exam
- MUST COVER 3.4 Payment Methods: From the Bank of Amsterdam to the Card in Your Wallet · exam
- MUST COVER 3.5 Protecting Your Accounts: The Spanish Prisoner and Modern Scams · exam
Unit 4: Credit and Debt
- MUST COVER 4.1 Interest and APR: The Truth in Lending Act · exam
- MUST COVER 4.2 Credit Cards: From Diners Club to the Minimum Payment · exam
- MUST COVER 4.3 Credit Reports and Scores: Lewis Tappan’s Mercantile Agency · exam
- MUST COVER 4.4 Student Loans: Counting the Cost of Training · exam
- MUST COVER 4.5 Getting Out of Debt: Mark Twain Pays in Full · exam
Unit 5: Insurance and Risk
- MUST COVER 5.1 Risk and Insurance: Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House · exam
- MUST COVER 5.2 Auto Insurance: The First Policy, 1897 · exam
- MUST COVER 5.3 Health Insurance: The Baylor Plan, 1929 · exam
- MUST COVER 5.4 Home and Renter’s Insurance: After the Great Fire of London · exam
- MUST COVER 5.5 Life and Disability Insurance: The Ministers’ Widows’ Fund · exam
Unit 6: Taxes
- OPTIONAL 6.1 Why and How Taxes Are Paid: The Tribute Money
- MUST COVER 6.2 Income Tax Basics and a Simple Return: 1913 and Form 1040 · exam
- MUST COVER 6.3 Payroll Taxes: Ida May Fuller and Social Security · exam
- MUST COVER 6.4 Sales and Property Taxes: From the Domesday Book to Your County · exam
- MUST COVER 6.5 Records and Honesty: Zacchaeus and Romans 13:7 · exam
Unit 7: Investing Basics
- MUST COVER 7.1 The Time Value of Money: Pacioli’s Rule of 72 and Franklin’s Gift · exam
- MUST COVER 7.2 Stocks: From the Dutch East India Company to Today · exam
- MUST COVER 7.3 Bonds: A 1648 Water Board Bond and Hamilton’s Debt · exam
- MUST COVER 7.4 Mutual Funds and Index Funds: John Bogle’s “Folly” · exam
- MUST COVER 7.5 Risk, Return and Diversification: “A Portion to Seven, and Also to Eight” · exam
Unit 8: Markets Through History
- MUST COVER 8.1 Tulips and the South Sea Bubble · exam
- MUST COVER 8.2 1929 and the Great Depression · exam
- MUST COVER 8.3 1987, 2000 and 2008: Three Modern Crashes · exam
- MUST COVER 8.4 Frauds: Charles Ponzi and Bernard Madoff · exam
- OPTIONAL 8.5 The Patient Investor: Ronald Read of Brattleboro
Unit 9: Big Purchases
- OPTIONAL 9.1 Buying a Car: Ford’s Weekly Purchase Plan and the Car Loan
- OPTIONAL 9.2 Renting: Jacob Riis and the Tenement House Act
- MUST COVER 9.3 Buying a Home and the Mortgage: From Five-Year Loans to Thirty · exam
- MUST COVER 9.4 Amortization: The Building and Loan Association of 1831 · exam
- MUST COVER 9.5 Contracts and Fine Print: Jacob, Laban and Your Signature · exam
Unit 10: Stewardship for Life
- MUST COVER 10.1 Retirement Accounts and Compound Growth Over Decades · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.2 Wills and Estate Planning, Simply: Lincoln Dies Without a Will
- OPTIONAL 10.3 Giving and Legacy: George Müller’s Orphan Houses
- MUST COVER 10.4 Avoiding Get-Rich Schemes and Games of Chance · exam
- MUST COVER 10.5 A Capstone Financial Plan: “Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant” · exam
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 33-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Day 1: Lesson 1.1 Vocation and Career: Work as a Calling: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 1.1: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 1.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 1.2 The Paycheck: Gross Pay, Net Pay and Withholding: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 1.2: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Day 1: Lesson 1.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 1.3 First Jobs and Résumés: Andrew Carnegie’s Climb: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 1.3: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 1.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 1.4 Self-Employment Income: The Merchant Who Keeps His Own Books: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 3 | Day 1: Lesson 1.4: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 1.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 1.5 Benjamin Franklin’s The Way to Wealth: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 1.5: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 1.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 4 | Day 1: Unit 1 test Day 2: Lesson 2.1 The Budget: Rockefeller’s Ledger A: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 2.1: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 2.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 2.2 Emergency Funds: Joseph’s Storehouses: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 5 | Day 1: Lesson 2.2: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 2.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 2.3 Tithing and Generosity: The Cheerful Giver: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 2.3: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 2.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 6 | Day 1: Lesson 2.4 Spending Decisions and Contentment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 2.4: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 2.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 2.5 Wesley’s “The Use of Money”: Gain, Save, Give: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 2.5: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Day 1: Lesson 2.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 2 test Day 3: Lesson 3.1 How Banks Work: Henry Duncan’s Parish Bank: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 3.1: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 3.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 8 | Day 1: Lesson 3.2 Checking and Savings: The Clearing House and the Register: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 3.2: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 3.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 3.3 Bank Runs and the FDIC, 1933: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 3.3: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 9 | Day 1: Lesson 3.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 3.4 Payment Methods: From the Bank of Amsterdam to the Card in Your Wallet: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 3.4: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 3.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 3.5 Protecting Your Accounts: The Spanish Prisoner and Modern Scams: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 10 | Day 1: Lesson 3.5: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 3.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 3 test Day 4: Lesson 4.1 Interest and APR: The Truth in Lending Act: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 4.1: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Day 1: Lesson 4.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 4.2 Credit Cards: From Diners Club to the Minimum Payment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 4.2: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 4.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 4.3 Credit Reports and Scores: Lewis Tappan’s Mercantile Agency: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 12 | Day 1: Lesson 4.3: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 4.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 4.4 Student Loans: Counting the Cost of Training: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 4.4: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 4.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 13 | Day 1: Lesson 4.5 Getting Out of Debt: Mark Twain Pays in Full: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 4.5: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 4.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 4 test Day 5: Lesson 5.1 Risk and Insurance: Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 14 | Day 1: Lesson 5.1: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 5.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 5.2 Auto Insurance: The First Policy, 1897: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 5.2: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 5.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 15 | Day 1: Lesson 5.3 Health Insurance: The Baylor Plan, 1929: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 5.3: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 5.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 5.4 Home and Renter’s Insurance: After the Great Fire of London: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 5.4: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Day 1: Lesson 5.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 5.5 Life and Disability Insurance: The Ministers’ Widows’ Fund: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 5.5: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 5.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 5 test | ||
| Wk 17 | Catch-up and review week (no new lessons) | ||
| Wk 18 | Day 1: Review day for the midterm Day 2: Midterm exam Day 3: Lesson 6.1 Why and How Taxes Are Paid: The Tribute Money: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 6.1: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 6.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 19 | Day 1: Lesson 6.2 Income Tax Basics and a Simple Return: 1913 and Form 1040: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 6.2: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 6.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 6.3 Payroll Taxes: Ida May Fuller and Social Security: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 6.3: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Day 1: Lesson 6.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 6.4 Sales and Property Taxes: From the Domesday Book to Your County: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 6.4: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 6.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 6.5 Records and Honesty: Zacchaeus and Romans 13:7: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 21 | Day 1: Lesson 6.5: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 6.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 6 test Day 4: Lesson 7.1 The Time Value of Money: Pacioli’s Rule of 72 and Franklin’s Gift: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 7.1: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Day 1: Lesson 7.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 7.2 Stocks: From the Dutch East India Company to Today: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 7.2: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 7.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 7.3 Bonds: A 1648 Water Board Bond and Hamilton’s Debt: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 23 | Day 1: Lesson 7.3: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 7.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 7.4 Mutual Funds and Index Funds: John Bogle’s “Folly”: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 7.4: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 7.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 24 | Day 1: Lesson 7.5 Risk, Return and Diversification: “A Portion to Seven, and Also to Eight”: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 7.5: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 7.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 7 test Day 5: Lesson 8.1 Tulips and the South Sea Bubble: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 25 | Day 1: Lesson 8.1: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 8.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 8.2 1929 and the Great Depression: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 8.2: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 8.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 26 | Day 1: Lesson 8.3 1987, 2000 and 2008: Three Modern Crashes: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 8.3: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 8.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 8.4 Frauds: Charles Ponzi and Bernard Madoff: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 8.4: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Day 1: Lesson 8.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 8.5 The Patient Investor: Ronald Read of Brattleboro: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 8.5: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 8.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 8 test | ||
| Wk 28 | Day 1: Lesson 9.1 Buying a Car: Ford’s Weekly Purchase Plan and the Car Loan: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 9.1: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 9.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 9.2 Renting: Jacob Riis and the Tenement House Act: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 9.2: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 29 | Day 1: Lesson 9.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 9.3 Buying a Home and the Mortgage: From Five-Year Loans to Thirty: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 9.3: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 9.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 9.4 Amortization: The Building and Loan Association of 1831: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 30 | Day 1: Lesson 9.4: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 9.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 9.5 Contracts and Fine Print: Jacob, Laban and Your Signature: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 9.5: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 9.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 31 | Day 1: Unit 9 test Day 2: Lesson 10.1 Retirement Accounts and Compound Growth Over Decades: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 10.1: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 10.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 10.2 Wills and Estate Planning, Simply: Lincoln Dies Without a Will: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 32 | Day 1: Lesson 10.2: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 10.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 10.3 Giving and Legacy: George Müller’s Orphan Houses: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 10.3: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 10.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 33 | Day 1: Lesson 10.4 Avoiding Get-Rich Schemes and Games of Chance: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 10.4: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 10.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 10.5 A Capstone Financial Plan: “Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant”: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 10.5: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Day 1: Lesson 10.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 10 test Day 3: Review day for the final Day 4: Final exam | ||
| Wk 35 | Catch-up week: finish any MUST COVER lesson not yet done | ||
| Wk 36 | Year-end review, portfolio and records |
Grading: Practice sets (completed and corrected) 15%, Projects (real numbers, organization, explanation) 25%, Ledger notebook (dated pages, labeled columns, honest records) 10%, Unit tests 30%, Midterm exam 10%, Final exam 10%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60.