South Carolina High School Personal Finance: Starter Units for Your Course
South Carolina students from the freshman class of 2023-24 on, the Class of 2027, need one-half credit in financial literacy to graduate, and the Personal Finance Starter Bundle gives that course a ready opening for $59.99. Its six lessons and units cover the course launch, money values, SMART goals, money habits, debt and interest. It is a starter set, not a complete half-credit course.
Open the finance starter setThe Personal Finance Starter Bundle costs $59.99, while its six parts cost $78.94 separately. It includes a Day 1 course launch lesson with slides, workbook and notes, a wheel of life lesson linking money to values, a SMART financial goals lesson, a money mindset quiz, a unit on handling money and avoiding debt, and a percentages and interest unit. For South Carolina's financial literacy half credit it covers the first stretch, not the whole course, and it is not state-approved.
The resources
Personal Finance Starter Bundle, Grades 9–12
6 resources in one download: $59.99 instead of $78.94 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Personal Finance Starter Bundle | Money Mindset, SMART Goals, Budgeting, Debt & Interest | Grades 9–12
Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle | Personal Finance, Job Applications, Workplace Communication & AI at Work | 8 Units | Grades 9–12
Everyday & Financial Math Bundle | Percentages, Interest, Ratio and Business Maths | 3 Units | Grades 7–12
Accounting & Economics Fundamentals Bundle | Journal Entries, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Markets & Marketing | 9 Units | Grades 10–12
The real problem
A new graduation credit and a course to fill
South Carolina's diploma calls for 24 units, and beginning with the freshman class of 2023-24, one-half of a credit must be in financial literacy. As of the 2026–27 school year, that cohort is the Class of 2027, so the requirement now shows up on real transcripts. Depending on the school, the course can land with a business teacher, a social studies teacher who already handles the 0.5 Economics unit, or a math teacher, and many are building it with little to start from. In some schools the course sits inside Career and Technical Education (CATE), which is organized by career clusters and is moving from 16 clusters to a 14-cluster framework, so where the course lives can shift. In others it stays in social studies. Either way, the teacher meets the same first problem: what to teach in week one, and how to get teenagers to care about money before the debt and interest lessons arrive. The second problem is scale. A half credit takes far more class time than six lessons and units can fill. Plan early where the remaining weeks will come from.
Why it fits
What the six parts do in a South Carolina classroom
The parts follow the way a course naturally opens: values, then goals, then mechanics.
- The Day 1 lesson comes with slides, workbook and notes, so the course launches without prep.
- Wheel of life connects money to students' own values before any calculation appears.
- The SMART financial goals lesson turns vague wishes into concrete plans students can revisit later.
- The money mindset quiz sorts students as savers, spenders, avoiders or investors, an easy discussion opener.
- Handling money and debt prevention gives the course its first substantial content unit.
- The percentages and interest unit gives students the calculations behind what borrowing really costs.
Getting started
Opening your financial literacy semester
A suggested order for the starter units. Adjust the pacing to your schedule and your district's course outline.
- Check your district's course outlineFind out whether your course sits in CATE or in social studies and which outline your district uses. Then mark which parts of the bundle match its opening topics and which topics remain open.
- Launch with the Day 1 lessonUse the course overview lesson with its slides and workbook on the first day. Follow it with the money mindset quiz, so students have something personal to talk about in week one.
- Move from values to goalsTeach the wheel of life lesson next, then the SMART financial goals lesson. Students leave with written goals you can return to when the course reaches budgeting and saving later on.
- Teach debt and interest togetherPair the handling money and debt prevention unit with the percentages and interest unit, so students calculate what borrowing costs while they talk about how debt starts.
- Plan the rest of the half creditList the topics your outline still needs after the starter set, such as banking, taxes or insurance, and decide whether they come from district materials, your own lessons or a second bundle.
What to buy
Starter bundle or something larger?
Buy the Personal Finance Starter Bundle ($59.99, parts $78.94) if you need the opening weeks of a financial literacy course. If your course sits in a CATE program, the Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle ($99.99, parts $199.92) adds eight units, among them financial literacy and debt prevention, job applications and interviews, and AI at work; it repeats the debt unit, so compare the parts lists. The Everyday & Financial Math Bundle ($49.99, parts $69.97) suits a math-heavy course with discounts, tax and simple interest, but it also includes a percentages and interest unit. Business and finance pathways may want the Accounting & Economics Fundamentals Bundle ($109.99, parts $224.91).
Honest limits
Honest limits of a starter set
Six lessons and units will not fill a half-credit course, and nothing here is South Carolina-specific: no state standards codes, no CATE course codes, no South Carolina tax or law content. The bundle is not approved for the state's financial literacy requirement and does not meet it by itself; check it against your district's course outline and confirm what the course must include. You supply the remaining units, assessments and any calculators or devices. Department-wide use needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. If it is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value rather than cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does this bundle meet South Carolina's financial literacy requirement?
No. The requirement is met by the course your school offers and the credit it awards, and this bundle is not approved, endorsed or aligned for that purpose. It gives you six ready lessons and units to start the course. Check the content against your district's course outline and confirm with your district or the state what the course has to include.
Which students need the half credit?
Under the state's graduation rules, the one-half credit in financial literacy applies beginning with the freshman class of 2023-24, which is the Class of 2027. It is part of the 24 units required for a South Carolina diploma. Your counselor or district office can confirm how your school schedules it and which course carries the credit.
Can I use it in a CATE course?
Yes, as teaching material. South Carolina's CATE programs are organized by career clusters, and the state is moving from 16 to 14 clusters, so confirm which cluster and course your class belongs to. The bundle has no CATE course codes; it gives you lessons to place inside whatever course you teach.
I teach math. Is it too light on numbers?
The first lessons focus on values, goals and mindset on purpose, so students have a reason to care about the numbers that follow. The percentages and interest unit brings the calculation. For more math, the Everyday & Financial Math Bundle adds business maths with the rule of three, plus ratio, proportion and percentage work.
How do I get the files?
Right after purchase you receive a download link by email, and the files also stay available in your customer account under Orders. You get slides, workbook pages, worksheets and answer keys that work for print or digital classes alike. No software, calculators or devices are included.
Can our whole department use it?
The licence covers your own teaching. Use across a department or school is possible after a short message to Teach Lessons, ideally before buying, and questions about school purchasing can go in the same message. Please do not post the files publicly or upload them to an open shared site.
Plan your first weeks
Open the product page to see all six parts, then sketch where the rest of your half credit will come from.
Open the finance starter set