Vacation Vibes – Planning the Perfect Trip on a Budget Imagine you’re planning a dream vacation. Perhaps a senior trip after graduation. You might spend days researching flights, hotels, and car rentals to find the best deals. Now, think about how much time you spend planning your financial future—probably not as much, right? Yet, both Read More…

Discretionary Expenses – Understanding Central Tendency What Are Discretionary Expenses? Discretionary expenses are non-essential purchases— wants, things we buy for enjoyment, convenience, or fun. Examples include entertainment, dining out, or the latest tech gadgets. In contrast, needs are essential for survival: food, housing, utilities, and healthcare. Knowing the difference between needs and wants is a Read More…

Compound Interest Calculator The first thing to consider with all personal finance is the idea of compound interest! This is what separates the “Piggy Bank” savers from the Warren Buffets; making use of interest compounding is how you can really make your savings grow! If you have already used our Investment Return Calculator, you can Read More…

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Financial Life Simulation Feedback Now that you are almost to the end of the game, we’d like your feedback! Fill out the short survey below to continue. Loading…

Sector and Industry Explorer When looking to compare stocks, it can be tempting to just pick any two companies and try to see which one will perform better. But real investors know that you can only make apples-to-apples comparisons between companies that compete with each other – in the same “Sector” or “Industry”. This tool Read More…

Managing Your Apartment The first option you had in the game was to choose where to live: This does not just impact the bills you need to pay and your Quality of Life score – you can actually visit your apartment and kit it out with your favorite decor too! You can visit your Apartment Read More…

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Unrealized Gains The value increase from an investment from when it was purchased until today, but the stock is not yet sold. Unrealized gains are not recorded as revenue by a business or taxed.

Savings & Loan A type of financial institution that specializes in savings accounts and home mortgage lending. Savings & Loans are required by law to have the vast majority of its assets in mortgage loans. As other types of loans and investment vehicles became more profitable, fewer of Savings & Loan institutions still exist.

International Trade The engagement of multiple countries in exchanging goods and services across borders.

Accountant A licensed professional who prepares financial statements, assists people with filing their taxes, and / or conducts financial investigations. Accountants are certified professionals that need to obtain both advanced degrees and professional designations to maintain their role.

Available Cryptos Our platform supports virtual trading of 100 different cryptocurrencies trading on the Coinbase exchange. This list updates every semester. The list of currently-available cryptocurrencies is below: Symbol – Name

This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company What can you do to make sure you are prepared when you are ready to retire?  Here are some programs to take advantage of that will help you save for that day. What are the different sources of retirement income and how can you Read More…

This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company If you look up an “Annuity” in the dictionary, it means “fixed payments”. But when it comes to personal finance and investing, “Annuity” refers to a specific type of investment product that is a common part of retirement portfolios. This lesson is about annuities Read More…

Workplace Benefits This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company When you start looking for a job, one of the first questions you will have when browsing job listings is “how much does this pay”? Starting salary or hourly pay is, of course, an important factor when considering a position, but is Read More…

This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company What is Disability Insurance? Disability Insurance is insurance that provides benefits to the insured person if they experience an injury or illness that prevents them from working for an extended period of time. It typically pays 50% – 70% of your pre-disability wage, or Read More…

Term Life Insurance – What You Need To Know This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company Whole, Endowment, Term – there are many types of Life Insurance on the market. But most financial advisors will give you the same mantra – “Buy Term and Invest The Rest”. But what does that Read More…

Disability Insurance This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company Most people overestimate the cost and underestimate the need for disability insurance. Many people live paycheck to paycheck and lack any significant real savings. They don’t have robust rainy day or emergency funds to cover the cost of an unexpected expense. In Read More…

Workplace Benefits This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company When you start looking for a job, one of the first questions you will have when browsing job listings is “how much does this pay”? Starting salary or hourly pay is, of course, an important factor when considering a position, but is Read More…

What Are Annuities? This lesson was made possible thanks to Pacific Life Insurance Company If you look up “Annuity” in the dictionary, it says “a fixed sum of money paid to someone each year, typically for life.” But when it comes to personal finance and investing, “annuity” refers to a financial product that can offer Read More…

Basic Research and Comparing Stocks When you first set out to build a portfolio, it can be overwhelming to choose your first stock. In this activity, we will walk through conducting some basic research on a company you find interesting, and learn how to compare it against another company in the same sector to determine Read More…

Basic Research and Comparing Stocks When you first set out to build a portfolio, it can be overwhelming to choose your first stock. In this activity, we will walk through conducting some basic research on a company you find interesting, and learn how to compare it against another company in the same sector to determine Read More…

This unit specifically covers financial literacy topics in Canada. While most lessons cover all countries equally well, some specifics (like filing taxes and retirement planning) refer to specific laws or regulations in Canada, differing from our US material.

Planning For Retirement in Canada Embarking on a journey towards retirement in Canada requires careful consideration and proactive financial strategies. In this guide, we will explore various elements of retirement planning in Canada, offering insights into pension programs, savings options, and employer-assisted plans. Old Age Security Pension (OAS) The “Old Age Security Pension” is a Read More…

Income Tax Filing and the Canadian Tax Return What is income tax?  Income tax is the tax you pay on your income, typically deducted directly from your paycheque. Every individual who earns income in Canada is obligated to pay income tax. Income encompasses more than just employment wages and salaries. If you receive rental income Read More…

Bankruptcy in Canada If you find yourself significantly behind on your bills and all other attempts to manage debt have proven futile, the last resort is declaring bankruptcy. What is Bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is a legally mandated process of forced debt settlement. When an individual declares bankruptcy in Canada, the court convenes all unsecured creditors to Read More…

Available Cryptocurrencies Our platform supports trading 100 different cryptocurrencies. Our available cryptos are updated typically twice per year based on the top 100 cryptos by market cap. This is the list of our current offerings (updated November 2023). Name Symbol Name Symbol Bitcoin BTC UNUS SED LEO LEO Ethereum ETH Cosmos ATOM Tether USDt USDT Read More…

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Fall 2023FinancialLiteracyChallenge! cache Nation-Wide investing and budgeting contest for schools Budget Game Stock Game Lessons Financial Literacy Challenge Registration is now open! Challenge Dates October 1 – November 17, 2023 4 Interactive & Fun Features Personal Budget Game Stock Game Built-in Lessons & Pop Quizzes Student & Teacher Prizes Student Prizes 10 10 students from Read More…

Fall 2023FinancialLiteracyChallenge National budgeting and investing contest for schools! Budget Game Stock Game Lessons Financial Literacy Challenge Registration is now open! Challenge Dates October 1 – November 17, 2023 4 Interactive & Fun Features Personal Budget Game Stock Game Built-in Lessons & Pop Quizzes Student & Teacher Prizes Student Prizes 10 10 students from each Read More…

With more Americans at home and online than ever before, people are increasingly using technology to work, shop and connect socially. However, this new digital reality also provides fraudsters with fresh opportunities to target you. Scams are on the rise, as sophisticated criminals try to capitalize on our changed circumstances. Fortunately, you can protect your Read More…

With more Americans at home and online than ever before, people are increasingly using technology to work, shop and connect socially. However, this new digital reality also provides fraudsters with fresh opportunities to target you. Scams are on the rise, as sophisticated criminals try to capitalize on our changed circumstances. Fortunately, you can protect your Read More…

With more Americans at home and online than ever before, people are increasingly using technology to work, shop and connect socially. However, this new digital reality also provides fraudsters with fresh opportunities to target you. Scams are on the rise, as sophisticated criminals try to capitalize on our changed circumstances. Fortunately, you can protect your Read More…

As a student, you have many responsibilities such as studying for exams, holding down a part-time job and handling at least some of your own finances. While you’re doing all this, con artists may also be trying to separate you from your cash. Scammers know students often have hectic schedules and may be new to Read More…

As a student, you have many responsibilities such as studying for exams, holding down a part-time job and handling at least some of your own finances. While you’re doing all this, con artists may also be trying to separate you from your cash. Scammers know students often have hectic schedules and may be new to Read More…

As a student, you have many responsibilities such as studying for exams, holding down a part-time job and handling at least some of your own finances. While you’re doing all this, con artists may also be trying to separate you from your cash. Scammers know students often have hectic schedules and may be new to Read More…

Career Center Every student should be thinking about getting a job before they graduate. The Career Center is here to help you find a job. Find job postings, get certifications to help build your resume, build interest from potential employers, and get valuable information on making yourself the best candidate you can be.

Complete the following short vocabulary quiz. Click ‘CONTINUE TO EXAM’ to start the exam for this chapter. Continue To Exam

Complete the following short vocabulary quiz. Click ‘CONTINUE TO EXAM’ to start the exam for this chapter. Continue To Exam

Complete the following short vocabulary quiz. Click ‘CONTINUE TO EXAM’ to start the exam for this chapter. Continue To Exam

3-09 Resources Ok new investor, you should be ready to begin. You can now leave the bleachers, put on a uniform, cross the white lines, and play. Stay focused, positive, and realistic. You might not make the Majors right away, but you can enter the investment world armed with solid knowledge, upon which you can Read More…

3-08 Set Goals and Targets You should have a “game plan” for your investing life. Just as you plan your workday, vacation, college financing, golf matches, and other areas of your personal and professional life, you need a plan, objective, and goal for your investment activities. Spend some quality time with yourself, thinking about what Read More…

3-07 How to Record Gains and Losses Unfortunately, when it comes time to file your tax return, the IRS wants to know how much money you made or lost in your brokerage account. Your brokerage firm will even report to the IRS your total proceeds from all of your sales of stocks, but they don’t Read More…

3-06 Short Selling So far, we’ve talked about how to make your first trades – buying a stock you think will get more valuable. But what about if you are SURE a stock is about to tank? Wouldn’t it be great if you could make profit in both directions? With short selling, you can! What Read More…

3-05 Buying on Margin When you are opening a real brokerage, you will be asked if you want to open a Margin Account. Buying on margin means that you purchase securities using some of your own cash and you take a loan from your broker to complete the purchase. The collateral for the loan is Read More…

3-04 Order Terms Now that you know some of the basic order terms, you can use Limit, Stop, and Trailing Stop orders to start building your portfolio, keeping an eye out for good deals and protecting yourself against loss. But when you go to actually place your order, there is one more option that pops Read More…

3-03 Types of Orders-Market, Limit, Stop Once you have the ticker symbol for the company you wish to trade, you are ready to place your first order. Go to your virtual trading account and you’ll see several options for order type—market, limit, stop, and trailing stop. You have already found the symbol to trade “LUV” Read More…

3-02 Understanding Stock Quotes A stock quote gives essential information about a particular stock at a point in time. The quote normally includes information such as the name of the company, the ticker symbol, the price, the day’s high and low prices, and the trading volume. Details Usually when you get a stock quote, you Read More…

3-01 How to Look Up a “Ticker Symbol” The first thing you must understand about trading stocks is that the exchanges have assigned each stock a unique “ticker symbol” for identification purposes. When researching stocks, getting quotes, and placing trades, you usually have to know the ticker symbol. Stock ticker symbols are usually 1 to Read More…

3-00 Chapter 3: Making Your First Trade Now that we covered the basics of different types of investments and why prices move, it is time to start “Learn by doing” and make your first trades. Best of all, you have your practice brokerage account to use, so you can try out your first investing strategies Read More…

2-11 Resources Don’t forget to check out a research platform like Zacks so you can compare stocks on your own. Zacks Rank uses a proprietary ranking system to evaluate stocks on a scale from 1 to 5; their #1 Strong Buy stocks have beaten the market in 26 of the 31 years they have been Read More…

2-10 Buying Individual Stocks Versus Investing in Mutual Funds As a newer investor, you should also be aware that you can save some research time by investing in mutual funds instead of individual stocks. Mutual funds contain a mix and diversity of stocks in which you will spread out one investment into many small blocks Read More…

2-09 Why Stocks Are a Good Choice For Investing In this course, we generally advocate that stock market investing is an excellent choice to receive consistently high Return on Investment (ROI). This does not mean we think everyone should be “stock picking” – but that stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs generally provide the best return Read More…

2-08 Brokers and How to Choose the Right Ones When you are ready to start buying your own stock, you won’t withdraw some cash from the ATM, head to New York, and look for someone with paper shares to sell. Instead, you would open an account with a stock brokerage, where you will make your Read More…

2-07 The Danger of Trying to Time the Market The mere perception that a market is becoming Bearish is not a predictor of disaster. Fortunes have been made in A prolonged period of pessimism and falling stock prices that seems to feed on itself and generates even more pessimism and even lower stock prices. Bear Read More…

2-06 Bull vs. Bear Markets Business and economic popular news will often refer to “Bull” or “Bear” markets. You probably already have some idea what this means – “Bull” markets tend to be going up, while “Bear” markets tend to be going down. What is a Bull Market? A “Bull Market” means that investors are Read More…

2-05 Market Timing and Moving Now that you know what the stock market is and what role the Stock exchanges are simply organizations that allow people the ability to buy and sell stocks. Stock Exchange plays, let’s take a step back and look at how stock prices and the economy move. As you might expect, Read More…

2-04 Public versus Private Companies & IPOs versus Secondary Market Securities Now that you know what an exchange is, it’s necessary to make a very important distinction between what shares trade on exchanges and what shares don’t. Most companies are private companies and don’t trade on exchanges. The barber shop and the florist on the Read More…

2-03 Other Stock Exchanges In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, there is also the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and NASDAQ. In the past, the NASDAQ was for smaller companies that were just getting started, and it was prestigious for them to move up to the NYSE or AMEX. These smaller companies included a Read More…

2-02 A History Lesson – Wall Street Wall Street” is a street in New York City, near the southern end of Manhattan Island. It is the home of the New York Stock Exchange, and the biggest center of stock trading and finance in the world. History The first European colony in what we now know Read More…

2-01 What Are Stock Exchanges? In the last lesson, we used a simple example of 10 buyers and 10 sellers who got together in the same room to make trades of one company’s stock. In the real world, there are hundreds of millions of people and companies trading trillions of shares of millions of company’s Read More…

2-00 Chapter 2: How the Stock Market Works and Why It Moves Now that we are introduced to some of the basic types of investments, we can look into how the stock market actually works, and why prices move. To understand the basics of the stock market, we need a quick refresher on some core Read More…

1-13 Resources Congratulations, you are through the first chapter! This is a glossary review and some extra resources for more information before we continue on to the chapter exam. Glossary Bank accounts – a depository account at a bank that acts as a secure way to store your money and withdraw it later. Checking Accounts Read More…

1-12 Recent Performance of Investments Now that we have looked at several different types of investments, we can compare how they have performed over time. In this case, we will pretend we invested $10,000 in Stocks, Gold, Commercial Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, and a Savings Account in January of 2010, and pulled our money Read More…

1-11 Real Estate If you are a homeowner, your home is probably where you keep most of your wealth. Everyone hopes to be able to sell their home for more than they paid for it – which means that every homeowner is a real estate investor! “Real Estate Investing” means making money based on buildings Read More…

1-10 Foreign Currency and Foreign Stocks You just got some insider information – Nintendo is about to announce a new Zelda game, coming out on their new console. Gamers are getting pumped up, this is a sure-fire hit. As a savvy investor, you think now might be a good time to invest in Nintendo! But Read More…

1-09 Gold and Other Precious Metals When we covered commodities, we mentioned iron and copper, but not Gold and Silver. That is because Precious Metals operate by different rules than other commodities – and are very different to investors. This is because unlike iron or copper, which is just used as inputs for other industry Read More…

1-08 Commodities So far, we have talked about what the average “retail investor” thinks about when investing – bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. But the world is a big place, and there are bigger ways to invest! Besides the stock market, the biggest investment markets in the world are for commodities – raw Read More…

1-07 Bonds Unlike Stocks are “equity investments” which means that individuals that own stock shares of a company actually own part of that company. stocks, which are equity instruments, A debt obligation of a company, the U.S. Treasury Department, or a city where the borrower receives funds (usually in increments of $1,000), makes semi-annual interest Read More…

1-06 ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) ETFs are a cross between mutual funds and stocks. ETFs are simply a portfolio of stocks or A debt obligation of a company, the U.S. Treasury Department, or a city where the borrower receives funds (usually in increments of $1,000), makes semi-annual interest payments based on the coupon rate, and eventually Read More…

1-05 Mutual Funds A mutual fund is a type of investment where a money manager takes your cash and invests it as he sees fit, usually following some rough guidelines. For example, the Fidelity Group has a fund that specializes in finding high dividend paying [ts]stocks[tm]Stocks are “equity investments”, which means that individuals that own Read More…

1-04 Stocks Stocks are “equity investments” which means that when you own shares of a company you own part of that company. For example, if you own 1,000 shares of Apple Computer stock and Apple has 1,000,000 shares that are “issued and outstanding,” then you own 0.1% of the company. If Apple were then to Read More…

Certificates of Deposit (CDs) With a An investment choice at most banks where you agree to deposit a specific amount of money for a fixed period of time (this is called the maturity). By agreeing to keep your money at the bank for a certain length of time, the bank usually pays you an interest Read More…

01-02 Basic Bank Accounts Bank accounts are issued by banks, credit unions, and savings & loan institutions as a secure way to store your money and make it easily accessible later (without carrying around all your cash everywhere you go). If you are sitting with your first $500, you usually have two options for accounts: Read More…

1-00 Chapter 1: Introduction To Investing Whether you have $1,000 or $1,000,000 in savings, education is the key to empowering yourself to take charge of your financial future. In this course you will learn about the different broad investment choices you have available. Specifically, you will learn how the stock market works, how to evaluate Read More…

1-01 Understanding Investment Choices The first time Tiger Woods grabbed a golf club he couldn’t hit the ball perfectly straight 300 yards and the first time Michael Jordan touched a basketball he couldn’t dunk it, so don’t think that you will be able to earn a 100% return in the first year. Before Tiger could Read More…

Buying a car? Here are the key terms to know about auto loans Buying a car can leave you feeling like auto dealers are speaking a whole new language when they talk about things like a down payment, depreciation, direct lending or dealer financing. Follow this map to understand these terms and learn how financing Read More…

Buying a car? Here are the key terms to know about auto loans Buying a car can leave you feeling like auto dealers are speaking a whole new language when they talk about things like a down payment, depreciation, direct lending or dealer financing. Follow this map to understand these terms and learn how financing Read More…

Buying a car? Here are the key terms to know about auto loans Buying a car can leave you feeling like auto dealers are speaking a whole new language when they talk about things like a down payment, depreciation, direct lending or dealer financing. Follow this map to understand these terms and learn how financing Read More…

How to balance your family’s savings priorities Saving for one is hard enough, but family savings multiply the challenge. You have short-term desires versus long-term goals, plus unexpected expenses that can pop up regularly. Read this short lesson, then return here to answer a quiz question to continue!

How to balance your family’s savings priorities Saving for one is hard enough, but family savings multiply the challenge. You have short-term desires versus long-term goals, plus unexpected expenses that can pop up regularly. Read this short lesson, then return here to answer a quiz question to continue!

How to balance your family’s savings priorities Saving for one is hard enough, but family savings multiply the challenge. You have short-term desires versus long-term goals, plus unexpected expenses that can pop up regularly. Read this short lesson, then return here to answer a quiz question to continue!

What is a Dividend? Pop Quiz!

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Financial Literacy Post-Test Before the game finishes – there is one last quiz to take: the Financial Literacy Post-Test. This will help show what you’ve learned over the course of the game.