PersonalFinanceLab.com: A TOS Crew Review

Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew

PersonalFinanceLab Budgeting Game, Stock Market Game and Integrated Curriculum from PersonalFinanceLab.com

Most students love the challenge of a fun game! PersonalFinanceLab.com has created an online platform that will get your 7-12th graders learning all about finance, business, and economics all while playing the PersonalFinanceLab Budgeting Game, Stock Market Game and Integrated Curriculum.

It's easy to get started, just register your account and start playing. I am teaching a personal finance class at our Coop, so I was excited to jump right in.  Let me show you how the Budgeting Game works.

The games puts the player in the role of an employed (part-time) college student with real life living expenses and bills.  The player can control several fixed expenses by making choices.  For example - you can choose to live in a small studio, 1 bedroom, or 2 bedroom apartment.  Choices for TV & Internet, Cell Phone Plans and even Diet, all encourage the player to think about personal preferences and balance that with budget realities.

During the game, which consists of 12 "virtual" months, players roll a die to move through the days. A dashboard shows they player how much is in their accounts, their credit score, a quality of life rating, outstanding bills, and credit balances and allows for transfers from checking to savings to achieve goals.

 Paychecks are earned and deposited. A realistic statements shows the player how to see earnings and deductions.

Bills are issued and paid, along with due dates and late fees!

One of our favorite parts of the game, was the unexpected expenses that are encountered (just like in real life - with choices to pay via debit or credit) Using credit creates new bills to pay!

50 lessons on personal finance are included with the game. Lessons are encountered throughout the month.  The lesson contains a pop up with a short text about a relevant topic, and a question to answer. The player must answer correctly to keep advancing.

Weekends come with choices of how to spend and budget your most valuable resource - your time.  Each choice carries different implications and the player can vary what they choose depending on their personal goals for that month. Working extra hours is a highly addictive game, which allows you to earn more money, but socializing, chores and personal development can also carry benefits.

The game is packed with opportunities to learn about budgeting, making decisions about cash flow and real life expenses and scenarios.  From breaking your leg to needing to replace your worn out futon, it gives the players a fun way to learn about finances! Each virtual month takes about 20-30 minutes to complete.

The Stock Market Game is another tool you can use to give your students a peek into the world of stock trading. This realistic game comes from their university platform that is used by over 80% of the top US Business schools (my sons played in their business courses in college and loved it!).

It gives players a virtual $100,000 to build a virtual portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds at real time prices.

The Stock Market game includes 20 lessons to introduce the player to the world of stocks with income statements, cash flow, analyst statements and much more!

The Integrated Curriculum contains hundreds of articles and resources you can access to help your students learn more about the world of personal finance, economics, career development, accounting, management, and marketing.

build a portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs, andmutual funds at real-time prices.build a portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds at real-time prices.portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds at real-time prices.portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds at real-time prices. 

This is a fabulous resource to let your high school students learn and explore, you may find yourself learning right alongside them.  I highly recommend giving it a try!

Find PersonalFinanceLab.com on Social Media: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personalfinancelab/
Instagram: @pfinlab / https://www.instagram.com/pfinlab/
YouTube: Stock-Trak - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1bctfGzsS_YVQT1MGMRIGQ

Hashtags: #hsreviews #budgeting #education #personalfinance #stockmarket #strategy #k12 #distancelearning #homeschool #teachingresource #payyourselffirst #qualityoflife

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Personal Finance Illustrated® Homeschool Edition from PEM LIFE: A TOS Crew Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way

Personal Finance Illustrated® Homeschool Edition from PEM LIFE


 Personal Finance Illustrated® Homeschool Edition from PEM LIFE is a biblically based financial literacy curriculum that makes a great elective for your high school students.

This program contains 18 units with 64 lessons that can be worked through in 2 different ways. Your student can work independently through all the lectures, quizzes, and assignments, called the Proctored Path. Or, families can use a more involved approach and work through lesson plans, instructor coaching videos, key points, Powerpoints, additional documents together.  Instructors do not need previous knowledge or experience.

This comprehensive program contains: 

• Textbook reading (included in the course in PDF format)
• Video lessons,
• Written assignments
• Interactive resources
• Quizzes 
• Discussion forums

We decided to work through this semester long course together, my tester is a Senior in high school.  I feel like gaining a solid understanding of financial principles is an essential skill we want them to have.

Once logged in, it's very easy to navigate this program.  Units cover a variety of topics related to finances -  from creating your own budget to mortgages and investments.  This curriculum gives a solid biblical view to managing our resources.

Since we worked on a self-paced approach, you can pick and choose the units you want to work on, and return to review as needed.

We really enjoyed the Interactive Resources.  From building a personal budget to seeing a financial GPS - each of the resources was a useful tool for seeing how money works and how to make it work for you.

This is the Personal Economic Model (the basic principle of this program) - the orange dots are movable and visually demonstrate the lesson.  

Instructor Guides and resources are included to help you teach the course.  I think this would make an excellent Co-op course.  With a combination of textbook reading and video instruction, this course works well for multiple learning styles too.

In addition to the reading and videos, students can take quizzes on the concepts and vocabulary, complete written reflection exercises (graded by the parent) and even share in the discussion forums.

This course makes an excellent elective for high school students.  

Find PEM LIFE on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PEMLIFE.ORG/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJau9Nh4q4Dx9HBlPcr3eFg/


Hashtags: #hsreviews #PersonalFinance #FinancialLiteracy #PersonalEconomicModel #PersonalFinanceIllustrated #PEMLIFE

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