This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Beyond Personal Finance. I was compensated for my time, but this is an honest review and all opinions are my own.
The teen years pass in a blink of an eye. One day your teen embarks on the new journey of high school, and the next thing you know, they’re graduating and ready to make some big life decisions. As a parent, preparing our kids for the future is one of the best gifts we can give. Readying them to make wise financial decisions is a huge part of that equation. Thankfully, there’s a fantastic curriculum to help parents and teens navigate these important waters: Beyond Personal Finance!
A Unique Approach to Teaching Personal Finance
Beyond Personal Finance is a curriculum for tweens and teens to help you practically and impactfully teach your student about personal finance. You can choose between two levels depending on the ages of your students.
Before Personal Finance is geared for tweens (late elementary), and Beyond Personal Finance is directed towards teens (middle and high school). Because my son is in high school and using this course for a personal finance class, this review focuses on the teen version: Beyond Personal Finance.
So, what makes this curriculum stand out from other finance curricula? It will require your student to intentionally think about what they want in life, not just learn finance facts and how to calculate a budget (although they’ll do that too!).
Your Student’s Future Life
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the creative approach Beyond Personal Finance uses, specifically the opportunity to make fictional life decisions as they move through the 20 lessons in the curriculum.
For example, in Lesson One, students consider college and career interests to start their “life” after high school. They will decide what schooling they need for their career choice, and how they will pay for that schooling.
In Lesson Two, they’ll make budgeting decisions, answering questions about whether they’ll have a basic or unlimited cell phone plan and whether they’ll work extra hours on nights or weekends to bring in more income.
I could tell my son enjoyed considering these budgeting questions and deciding for himself the lifestyle he’d like to enjoy…and then discovering if his salary could afford his lifestyle!
To make the most of this curriculum, students are encouraged to make choices they would actually make in real life. (Will they really buy a Ferrari for their first car?). Maybe some of their choices won’t seem that great to you. However, that’s an important part of using this curriculum: if they make fictional poor choices, they’ll see how those choices negatively impact their finances.
There are simulated opportunities to rent an apartment, get a pet, ask someone to marry them, and even design where they will go for their honeymoon and how expensive that honeymoon will be! Along the journey students learn about loans, insurance, budgeting, credit cards, meal planning, taxes, investments, and so much more. The curriculum truly is very comprehensive covering many major milestones in life all the way to retirement.
Fostering Communication With Your Teen
My 15-year-old isn’t sure about a future career yet. While this was something we discussed leisurely from time-to-time, this curriculum really prompted us to give it more serious thought and consideration. He took a career assessment that was recommended in the first lesson. We then researched some of those career suggestions to see what type of higher education is involved.
Additionally, we talked about the pros and cons of going to a four-year college versus a community college, or even pursuing a trade school. Then, we explored programs offered at our local community college, which was something we hadn’t taken the time to do before. It was very insightful and time well spent!
Although he still isn’t sure about a future job, that is not a problem. He ended up selecting a possible job interest, and we proceeded with the curriculum.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the assignments helped me realize that these conversations with my son are ones I want to visit again. What a great opportunity to learn more about your teen and how they envision the future playing out in their life.
What I Like About Beyond Personal Finance Curriculum
1-Well-produced teaching videos
Charla McKinley, course creator and teacher in the videos, speaks in a friendly, engaging way and is easy to understand. The videos are well done and follow a consistent format. She takes what could be extremely boring to teens and breaks it down into easy to understand information, with a practical interpretation of why the information matters.
2-Plenty of help for parents
There is a Course Information section that provided me with all I needed to know to teach the class, including how to find information in the portal and answers to common questions. Each of the lessons has a Teacher Talk video in the parent portal, which provides an overview of what my student is learning. Below each video I can also read the unit’s objective, important points to note, and what the homework materials are.
A teacher workbook is available, which is a reprint of the student workbook with answers provided. It would be great to have an option for a less cumbersome answer book for parents, however the teacher workbook is helpful, especially if you want to quickly and easily check your students answers.
3-Both paper and online options provided
During the course, your student will complete a budget and make various revisions to those budgets in the lessons. While students can do everything digitally, I appreciate that there are printable PDF options for students or parents who prefer to work with a hard copy.
4-Appealing graphics and colors
Remember those hideous textbooks we had as kids from the 1980’s? What I would have done to have a beautiful, full-color textbook like this one! One of the first things I noticed was the engaging student workbook. Everything is visually appealing, from the color scheme, to photo choices, to fonts and graphics.
Because of this, I really wanted to keep flipping through the book. I think it will be engaging to your teen as well. Additionally, the online website and portal is also well done and easy to navigate.
5-Grading tools and suggestions
I always appreciate when a curriculum provides grading guidelines, and this one doesn’t disappoint. You can use the provided gradebook in either paper or electronic form, both of which are provided. I love that there are options for both! Of course, you can determine how you want to grade the class, but by providing suggestions it contributes to the ease of using this course.
Grades are determined in four ways:
- Selection and Reflection Forms
- Year-in-Review Budget Sheets
- Checkpoints
- Effort
Throughout the course students have an opportunity to receive a fictional job raise, and the amount of the raise received is determined by how you evaluate your student in key areas, effort being one of them. This is a creative way to motivate students while also paralleling the real world since raises are often based on performance!
6-Group course options
I think this course would be excellent for homeschool co-ops, and the students could really have fun walking through life together. Each video provides tips and ideas for anyone using the curriculum in a group setting, and there is a special portal for group teachers.
8-For secular and non-secular homeschoolers
I found the wise words regarding choosing a spouse, marriage, etc. to be in line with my personal values. I wouldn’t consider this to be a Christian curriculum per se, however your student will progress through their fictional life in a very traditional way (job, marriage, children, retirement, etc.). The topic of divorce is discussed to show its financial impact, but your student will not fictionally become divorced, and you’re encouraged to discuss the topic more with your student in light of your family’s values.
9-Plot twists
Throughout the course, students will need to click the Plot Twist Wheel. This spinner randomly generates an unexpected situation in their fictional life. For example, in Lesson 2, my son’s plot twist was attending a concert which cost him an extra $200 in expenses. We both thought the plot twists were a fun part of the course.
10-Promotes self-knowledge
This curriculum will likely get your student thinking about questions they’ve possibly never considered before. Do they want to attend college? What career path interests them? Are they a spender or a saver? Would they like to live with roommates or not?
There are definite opportunities for students to get to know themselves better. It was also a great way for me to learn more about my son. When he took the career interest assessment, we began thinking about career paths based on those interests and had good conversations. We might not have done that yet without the prompting of the curriculum!
(Planning your curriculum for the next school year? You might find these posts helpful: Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2024-2025 for 2nd, 8th and 10th grades, and Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2023-2024 for 3rd, 9th and 11th grades.)
What My 10th Grader Says About Beyond Personal Finance
While we haven’t completed the entire curriculum, my son said he likes that he’s getting schoolwork done, but that it doesn’t feel like schoolwork. He appreciates that it has him thinking about real-world life choices, and that it’s been pretty fun at the same time.
He also likes the layout of the workbook, but thinks there could be a little more to do within the workbook itself. He said the course videos are good and the teacher (Charla McKinley) is very engaging.
What’s included in Beyond Personal Finance?
When you purchase Beyond Personal Finance, you’ll receive access to the online student and teacher portals for a year. The course can be completed in a semester, but with access for a year you can move at a slower pace if you need to. You also get a student workbook with your purchase. The teacher workbook is optional (for an additional fee). Within the portal you get access to the teaching videos, all the assignments and downloads, as well as tests, grade workbook, and teaching resources.
Here’s a list of the topics/lessons covered in this curriculum:
- Careers & Education
- Budgeting
- Car Purchase
- Apartment Rental
- Credit Cards
- Marriage & Interest
- Babies & Payroll
- House Purchase
- Insurance
- Charitable Giving
- Investments
- Business Basics
- Layoff & Financial Tracking
- Income Tax
- Divorce
- Retirement
Should I Try Beyond Personal Finance?
I would highly recommend that you try Beyond Personal Finance in your homeschool for three main reasons:
✅Reason #1-It’s going to help your student with life skills they need, like creating and using a budget.
✅Reason #2-It’s easy to use. Instructional videos for students and parents describe exactly how the course works. It’s organized well and clearly laid out. I didn’t find any aspect confusing or unclear. For busy homeschool moms, this is great.
✅Reason #3-It may meet your high school credit requirements. High schoolers typically need to have some type of financial literacy education, and this could be a possible option.
Sound like a good fit for your student? Learn more about this curriculum by clicking below 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Conclusion
Beyond Personal Finance offers a fun and unique approach to personal finance for your homeschooled teens. There is so much to like about this program that I recommend you give it a try. One of the perks of homeschooling is offering our children unique and impactful classes, and I believe this curriculum fits the bill. Additionally, I hope this course opens up opportunities to have great conversations with your teen and helps you learn more about the person they hope to become in their future life.
