Personal Finance for Summer 2024
Teacher: Daniel Burns
Email: swampfox185@gmail.com
(No price has been finalized yet, check back later.)
Course Description: Through a fun and creative format, this class will give your 9th-12th grader the knowledge needed to manage his/her own finances successfully for life. It’s no secret that many Americans struggle with money. A Federal Reserve study in early 2023 showed that the average American has over $5700 in credit card debt, and 69% have $1000 or less in their savings accounts. This course will show you how to defy the trends and win with money.
Major topics include:
- Saving and Investing
- Budgeting
- Avoiding Debt
- Insurance and Taxes
- Careers
In addition to these standard Personal Finance topics, we’ll briefly explore other specialized topics of interest, such as entrepreneurship, the fintech revolution, and cryptocurrency.
Dates and format: The class will start on June 17th and end on August 2nd. We will meet once a week (six times total) on Zoom at 12:00 noon Eastern time on Tuesdays. The specific dates will be June 18th, June 25th, July 2nd, July 16th, July 23rd, and July 31st. The live classes will be recorded in case of a scheduling conflict. Aside from the weekly live class, we will have a highly interactive course website on Canvas for discussions, activities, projects, etc.
Curriculum: We will use Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance for High School program. Using a “flipped classroom” model, students will watch the Ramsey videos on their own time and then we will use the live class and the Canvas discussion boards to answer questions, run simulations or games, and dig deeper into topics of interest. Examples of other fun activities include:
- Games and interactives from NGPF
- The National Personal Finance Challenge
- The CASHFLOW game
Tuition: $300. The tuition fee includes one year of access to Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum. There are no additional materials to purchase. *Ask about a discount for multiple students in the same family.*
Academic credits: ½ credit is awarded upon successful completion of the course.
Registration: There is no application. Simply pay tuition using one of these options. Class size is limited, so sign up soon! Minimum enrollment is 10 students by June 1st to make sure the class is a go.
National Personal Finance Challenge: As a capstone project, we will conduct an intraclass competition using materials from the National Personal Finance Challenge.
Instructor qualifications: I have been teaching AP classes with the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers for many years, including Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Personal Finance is one of my favorite classes to teach to high school students at Puebla Christian School every few years. I graduated from Patrick Henry College with a degree in Government Public Policy and from Regent University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). My wife Florina and I live in Puebla, Mexico with our two daughters Azrielle (10) and Avianna (7).