This dual credit course is designed to fulfill 1.0 full credit toward high school graduation requirements, including 0.5 credit of Mathematics (4th Year Elective) AND 0.5 credit of Personal Finance. Mathematics of Personal Finance is a practical and engaging high school course designed to help students build strong mathematical skills while learning how to effectively manage their personal finances. This course integrates essential mathematical concepts with real-life applications in budgeting, investing, saving, borrowing, and financial decision-making.
Students will learn percentages, ratios, and algebraic equations in the context of managing money and making financial decisions. Students will engage in practical exercises and projects that simulate real-world financial scenarios, exploring topics such as interest rates, credit scores, taxes, insurance, and risk management. They will learn how to create and manage budgets, analyze investment options, evaluate loan terms, and make informed financial decisions and develop healthy financial habits that will serve them well beyond high school.
Prerequisites: Middle School Math (including Pre-Algebra)
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Describe the relationship net and gross income
- Interpret tax tables for both regular and graduated incomes
- Create and assess a personal budget
- Calculate simple and compound interest scenarios
- Access market data, practice making stock market transactions, and evaluate the effectiveness of financial choices
- Compare factors when buying goods and services
- Evaluate costs and benefits of using credit, including student loans
- Assess risk when deciding on different types of insurance
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Gross Income
Unit 2: Net Income
Unit 3: Income Tax
Unit 4: Budgets
Unit 5: Assets
Unit 6: Buying Goods and Services
Unit 7: Mortgages
Unit 8: Investments
Unit 9: Liabilities
Unit 10: Insurances
Unit 11: Education, Training, and Careers
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: None
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: None