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Personal Finance

Course Duration: One Semester
 Category: Electives, High School, History/Social Studies
Assessment: Pre-Test, Lesson Practice, Unit Exams, Mid-Term Exam, Final Exam
Language: English




Course Overview

The Acellus Personal Finance course is designed to prepare students with the skills and knowledge needed to shape their financial future. The course will provide a tool-kit of knowledge resources that will empower students to make informed financial decisions. The course covers real world topics including income, money management, credit, as well as saving and investing. Students will have the opportunity to explore concepts such as budgeting; checking and saving accounts; and investment options. The course also teaches sound practices in the areas of finance, debt, risk management, taxes, and credit management. Course topics include:
  • Fundamental economic principles
  • How to find a job, including resume preparation
  • Factors that affect income
  • Budgeting and spending
  • Planning for taxes
  • How to prepare a tax return and other tax forms
  • Income vs. net worth
  • Choosing a bank
  • Debit cards and ATMs
  • Insurance and risk management
  • Credit management
  • Interest rates
  • Credit card management
  • Loans and mortgages
  • Credit laws that protect consumers
  • Avoiding scams and identity theft
  • Saving and investing
Acellus Personal Finance is taught by Acellus Instructor Todd Edmond. Acellus Personal Finance is A-G Approved through the University of California.

Course Objectives & Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of Acellus Personal Finance, students will be able to: define, evaluate, and apply principles of personal finance, economics, and making informed financial decisions; and identify, describe, and apply employment strategies; describe entrepreneurship; calculate and predict income earning potential; and describe and evaluate tax planning approaches; apply tax code to prepare a tax return and other tax-related forms; and use principles of budgeting and spending to make connections between budgets, income, net worth, financial institutions and services, debit cards, and ATMs; and characterize insurance and risk management principles as they relate to financial risk; and health, disability, life, auto, homeowner’s and renter’s insurance. Students will also be able to articulate credit fundamentals such as interest basics, credit decision-making guidelines; obtaining credit; and credit score; and discriminate between interest rates, such as compound versus simple interest; calculate interest; apply annual percentage rate (APR); and calculate finance charges; and evaluate criteria for selecting a credit card; define credit limit; calculate credit card interest; and articulate methods for preventing credit card debt; and synthesize aspects of loans, auto loans, and mortgages to include amortization, collateral, and saving by comparing options. Finally, students will be able to identify, describe, and distinguish major credit laws that protect consumers, such as the Truth in Lending Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Billing Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act; and critique facets of and predict counter strategies to loan scams, high-cost credit schemes, and identify theft; and differentiate and connect the aspects of saving and investing to include saving and saving instruments, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CD), and U.S. Government Savings Bonds; and investments, investments risks, and investment instruments, such as real estate, stocks, and mutual funds; and calculate investment risks, Rule of 72, Index, and investment accumulations.

Scope and Sequence

Unit 1 – Introduction to Personal FinanceIn this unit students are introduced to the reasons to study personal finance.  They investigate basics economics, and making informed financial decisions.Unit 2 – Earning IncomeIn this unit students discuss employment basics and becoming an entrepreneur.  They explore factors that affect income.Unit 3 – Tax FundamentalsIn this unit students study Income Tax and tax planning.  They learn how to prepare a tax return, and they study tax related forms.Unit 4 – Budgeting and SpendingIn this unit students explore budgeting.  They learn about what a budget is, and they study income versus net worth, choosing a bank, financial services, debit cards, and ATMs.Unit 5 – Insurance and Risk ManagementIn this unit students explore financial risk.  They also discuss health, disability, and life insurance, and investigate auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, and renter's insurance.Unit 6 – Credit FundamentalsIn this unit students study credit.  They learn what credit is and explore interest basics, guidelines for making decisions about credit, how to obtain credit, and credit score.Unit 7 – Interest FundamentalsIn this unit students discover interest.  They study interest rates, compound versus simple interest, calculating interest, annual percentage rate (APR), and finance charges.  Following this unit students are presented with the Mid-term Review and Exam.Unit 8 – Credit CardsIn this unit students study credit cards.  They investigate the criteria for selecting a credit card, credit limit, calculating credit card interest, and preventing credit card debt.Unit 9 – Loans and MortgagesIn this unit students explore mortgage loans.  They begin with the basics, and move on to learn about auto loan basics, amortization, collateral, and saving by comparing options.Unit 10 – Credit Laws That Protect ConsumersIn this unit students discuss the credit laws that protect them.  They explore the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.Unit 11 – Scams, Schemes, and Identity TheftIn this unit students discover scams, schemes, and identity theft.  They learn about loan scams, high-cost credit schemes to avoid, and preventing identity theft.Unit 12 – Saving and InvestingIn this unit students study saving and investing.  They explore paying yourself first, certificates of deposit (CD), U.S. Government Savings Bonds, investment basics, risks of investing, the Rule of 72, investing in real estate, investing in stocks, index and mutual funds, and calculating investment accumulations.  Following this unit students are presented with the Final Review and Exam.
This course was developed by the International Academy of Science. Learn More