Personal Finance

About this course

This elective teaches ordinary money skills on a stewardship foundation. It opens with the conviction that everything belongs to God and that we manage rather than own it, then works outward into the practical matters a young adult actually meets: building and keeping a monthly budget, telling needs from wants, starting an emergency fund, understanding compound interest, how credit cards and interest rates work, what student loans really cost, opening and protecting a bank account, spotting fraud and predatory lending, the basics of stocks, bonds, index funds, and retirement accounts, reading a pay stub and filing a simple tax return, choosing health, auto, renters, and life insurance, and planning for a home, a trade or business, and a family. Every lesson opens with a verse from the King James Bible, and the recurring themes are contentment, honesty, diligence, prudence, and cheerful generosity.

The course is 10 units of 10 lessons each, 100 lessons in all, self-paced rather than tied to a daily schedule. A lesson is a short reading, usually 350 to 750 words, followed by a ten-question multiple-choice quiz that grades itself. The writing is plain high school prose that defines each term as it introduces it, so no prior business or math coursework is needed beyond ordinary arithmetic and percentages. Unit 9 handles giving directly: it traces the tithe from the Old Testament through the New Testament teaching on cheerful and sacrificial giving, and it presents tithing as a discipline many believers keep while leaving room for families who give differently. Unit 8 includes an honest look at Anabaptist mutual aid and faith-based health cost sharing as a real alternative to commercial insurance, with both its strengths and its limits.

A few practical notes. This is a reading and study course, and it does not require software, a spreadsheet, or a bank account to complete, though it means far more to a student who has a job, an allowance, or a first checking account to practice on. Several lessons will naturally lead to questions only you can answer, since they touch on how your own household budgets, gives, insures, and borrows, and the course itself repeatedly tells the student to seek counsel from parents and trusted older believers. The material assumes the United States throughout: dollars, W-2 and 1099 forms, an April filing deadline, Social Security and Medicare withholding, 401(k) plans and IRAs. Please also expect the specifics to age. Dollar amounts, average student loan balances, standard deduction figures, contribution limits, and sample interest rates reflect the time of writing and will drift, so treat them as illustrations of how the math works rather than current figures, and look up the present numbers together when a lesson turns practical.

What the course covers

• Biblical stewardship, contentment, and the heart behind money
• Building, keeping, and adjusting a monthly budget
• Emergency funds, savings goals, and compound interest
• Credit cards, interest rates, credit scores, and student loans
• Checking and savings accounts, bank fees, fraud, and online safety
• Stocks, bonds, index funds, diversification, and retirement accounts
• Paychecks, withholding, tax documents, and filing a basic return
• Health, auto, renters, and life insurance, plus mutual aid traditions
• Tithing, cheerful giving, and generosity of time and talent
• Career choice, housing, family finances, and legacy planning

What your student will be able to do

• Build a working monthly budget and adjust it as circumstances change
• Calculate the true cost of a loan and compare borrowing options honestly
• Read a pay stub, a bank statement, and basic tax documents
• Evaluate an investment or insurance option for risk, cost, and conscience
• Plan systematic giving as a normal part of a budget rather than leftovers
• Recognize scams, predatory lending, and get-rich-quick schemes

Scope and sequence

All 10 units of Personal Finance for Grade 10, in the order they are taught.

Inside the course

These photographs appear in the lessons themselves, not just on this page. Every one is freely licensed and credited to its photographer at the foot of this page.

Every lesson, by title

All 100 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

Unit 6: Growing Your Wealth — Investing for Your Future · Lesson 1

What Is Investing? Growing What God Has Given

Investing is the practice of putting money into assets such as stocks, bonds, or real estate with the expectation that they will generate returns over time. Unlike simply keeping money in a checking account, investing means actively choosing to place your resources where they can grow and work for you. As Christians, we understand this through the biblical lens of stewardship—God has entrusted us with resources, and we are called to manage them wisely and faithfully.

Understanding What Investing Really Is

At its core, investing is about delayed gratification and trust. You give up having money available to spend today in exchange for the possibility of having more money in the future. This requires both patience and faith—patience to let investments grow over time, and faith that your decisions are sound. The Bible's parable of the talents in Matthew 25 directly addresses this principle. The master gave money (talents) to his servants and expected them to invest and grow that wealth. The servants who did so were rewarded; the one who simply buried his talent was condemned.

Why Young People Should Take Investing Seriously

You might think investing is something only adults near retirement need to worry about. This is far from the truth. Young investors possess one invaluable asset that no amount of money can buy: time. The earlier you start investing, even with small amounts, the more opportunity your money has to compound and grow. Consider a simple example: someone who invests one hundred dollars per month starting at age fifteen may accumulate significantly more wealth by age sixty-five than someone who invests five hundred dollars per month but doesn't start until age thirty-five. This dramatic difference is due to compound growth—earnings generate additional earnings, which then generate more earnings, and so on.

The Categories of Investments You'll Learn About

Investments come in several main forms. Stocks represent partial ownership in companies. Bonds are essentially loans you make to corporations or governments, earning interest. Real estate is property ownership. Mutual funds and index funds combine many investments into one package. Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs offer special tax advantages for long-term saving. We'll explore each of these categories in detail.

Stewardship as Your Spiritual Foundation

Before you invest a single dollar, remember that true stewardship means more than simply accumulating wealth. It means asking questions about values: Where am I putting my money? What does this company do? Does it align with my faith and principles? Is my motive to make a quick fortune, or am I thinking long-term and responsibly? The Bible warns us that the love of money is a root of evil. Investing is not evil, but the attitudes we bring to it matter greatly. As you learn to invest with wisdom and a clear conscience, you're not just building wealth—you're developing godly character.

The first three of this lesson's 10 questions

According to Proverbs 13:11, what happens to wealth that is obtained through vanity?

1. It stays the same forever
2. It becomes a blessing
3. It shall be diminished
4. It increases significantly over time

Show the answer

Answer: It shall be diminished

What is the primary difference between saving money in a bank account and investing?

1. Investing places your money into assets seeking growth and returns, while saving just keeps money accessible
2. Investing is safer
3. Saving earns more money over time
4. There is no real difference

Show the answer

Answer: Investing places your money into assets seeking growth and returns, while saving just keeps money accessible

Why do young investors have a significant advantage?

1. Young people typically have more money available to invest
2. They naturally understand investments better than adults
3. Age makes no difference in investing success
4. They have more time for compound growth before retirement

Show the answer

Answer: They have more time for compound growth before retirement

Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 100 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.