Wisconsin Personal Finance for High School: Starter Lessons for Act 60
Wisconsin Personal Finance for High School: Starter Lessons for Act 60
Wisconsin's class of 2028 is the first that must earn at least half a credit in personal financial literacy under 2023 Wisconsin Act 60, and the Personal Finance Starter Bundle gives a new course its first six lessons and units for $59.99. It is a starting block, not a full half-credit course, and it is not approved under Act 60 or matched to Wisconsin's standards.
See the finance lessonsThe Personal Finance Starter Bundle costs $59.99 and contains six resources: a Day 1 course launch lesson with slides, workbook and notes; the Wheel of Life lesson on money and values; SMART Financial Goals; a Money Mindset Quiz; Financial Literacy – Handling Money and Debt Prevention; and Percentages and Interest. It covers the opening weeks of a course. You build the rest of the half credit around it.
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
What Act 60 means for the person handed the new course
Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 60, students must complete at least 0.5 credit of personal financial literacy to graduate, starting with those graduating in 2028. That class is in eleventh grade during 2026–27, so the course has to be on the schedule before those students finish. The credit sits inside the 15.5 total credits the state requires, and school boards can add their own rules on top. The Department of Public Instruction published Personal Financial Literacy standards in 2020, but the state does not hand teachers a ready course. The job may land on a business, math, family and consumer sciences or social studies teacher who has never taught money management as its own subject. The first two weeks are the hardest to plan. Students arrive with very different ideas about money, and a course that opens with tax tables loses them. You need something that gets them talking about what money is for, sets goals they care about, and then moves into debt and interest with real numbers. After that, a teacher can find their footing with the rest of the semester.
Why it fits
How the six parts fit a Wisconsin half-credit course
Think of the bundle as the opening unit of your course, with each part doing one clear job.
- The Day 1 lesson comes with slides, a workbook and notes, so your first class is planned.
- Wheel of Life connects money choices to students' own values and priorities in life.
- SMART Financial Goals turns vague wishes into written plans students can revisit later in the course.
- The Money Mindset Quiz sorts students into saver, spender, avoider or investor for discussion.
- Handling Money and Debt Prevention gives the course its first serious content on borrowing.
- Percentages and Interest brings in the everyday math behind loans, discounts and savings.
Getting started
Opening weeks of the course
A suggested order for the first part of a semester course. Adjust the pacing to your periods and your district's course outline.
- Day 1: launch the courseTeach the Day 1 lesson with its slides and workbook. Students leave knowing what the course covers; add a few minutes of your own on why Wisconsin now requires it for graduation.
- Values before numbersRun Wheel of Life, then the Money Mindset Quiz. Keep the discussion personal but private, so students talk about habits and patterns rather than their own family's finances.
- Set goals students will trackUse SMART Financial Goals to have each student write one short-term and one long-term money goal. Return to these goals at the end of the semester.
- Debt and borrowingTeach Financial Literacy – Handling Money and Debt Prevention. It is a full unit rather than a single lesson, so give it noticeably more class time than the opening lessons.
- Interest with real numbersFinish with Percentages and Interest. After this, move to the topics your district's outline adds, such as banking, taxes, insurance or investing, from your own materials.
What to buy
What else to add to a finance course
Start with the Personal Finance Starter Bundle at $59.99; bought separately, the six parts cost $78.94. If your course also prepares students for work, the Career Readiness Curriculum Bundle ($99.99, parts $199.92) adds résumés, interviews and professional email, and it includes the same debt prevention unit. For more math practice, the Everyday & Financial Math Bundle ($49.99, parts $69.97) covers percentages, interest and business maths. Teaching an accounting or economics elective too? The Accounting & Economics Fundamentals Bundle is $109.99 (parts $224.91).
Honest limits
Read this before you plan the whole course on it
Six resources will not fill a half-credit semester, and the bundle does not claim to. It is not approved under Act 60, not aligned to Wisconsin's Personal Financial Literacy standards, and contains no Wisconsin tax or banking examples. Check it against the standards and your district's course outline, and plan the remaining topics yourself. For use by every teacher in your department, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value; it is not refunded in cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this approved for the Act 60 personal finance credit?
No. The bundle is not approved, endorsed or aligned under Act 60 or Wisconsin's Personal Financial Literacy standards. Whether a course earns the credit is decided by your district. Check the course outline and the 2020 standards with your district office, then decide where these six resources fit inside it.
Is this a full half-credit course?
No. It is six lessons and units that open a course: a launch day, values and goals, a mindset quiz, debt prevention, and percentages and interest. Banking, taxes, insurance, investing and other topics your district lists need other materials. Use the bundle to get the first weeks running while you build the rest.
Which grade should take the course?
Wisconsin sets the requirement by graduating class, not by grade, so districts decide. The bundle is written for Grades 9–12. Schools catching up with the class of 2028 may place it in eleventh or twelfth grade, while others start in ninth; ask your counselor how your school handles it.
Can I use it in a CTE or Academic and Career Planning setting?
Yes, the lessons work outside a dedicated finance course. The goal-setting and values lessons fit naturally into Academic and Career Planning time, and the debt unit suits business or family and consumer sciences classes. Credit decisions still belong to your district, so check before counting the time toward the requirement.
Do students need calculators or apps?
No software or devices are included, and the product does not require any. For the percentages and interest unit, use whatever calculators your classroom already has. All materials are worksheets, activities and slides that work in print or on screen, so a class without a device for every student can still use them.
How quickly can I start teaching?
The download is available as soon as you check out, with a link by email and a copy under Orders in your customer account. The Day 1 lesson has slides, a workbook and notes, so you can teach the first class the next morning and read ahead on the later units that evening.
Have the first two weeks ready before the semester starts
Open the product page to see the six lessons and units in the bundle.
See the finance lessons