I was paid a wee bit to write this review, but just like with all things from The WOLFe Pack, what you will find here is an honest opinion from a seasoned homeschool mom with a Master’s Degree in Education and a decade of experience in the classroom…who also happens to be a mom with way too little sleep, too many dishes to do and only 9 months left on her homeschool clock.
Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.
Beyond Personal Finance
Our one and only son will turn 18 in just six short months. Because I started him early, he was supposed to graduate from High School this year (2024,) but as the 23/24 school year started to unfold, I realized “we” were not quite ready to leave home and head to college. He’s done with his High School classes, more or less, but staying home another year to work on more dual enrollment classes while also, and more importantly, filling in some necessary life skills seemed like the best idea. So we all agreed on a Super Senior Year!
And, one of the life skills we need to work on is financial literacy. So far, our son has, thankfully, proven to have a very wise noggin when it comes to money. He likes to make it, but he does not like to spend it. And when he does spend it, he thinks long and hard about it beforehand. It seems he has a natural inclination to be a saver but there is more to being financially literate than simply not being wasteful. You need to understand how much the “needs” in life cost. You also need to understand that researching wolves in Alaska full-time is not likely to support a wife, five kids and eight dogs. 🙂
Don’t get me wrong. From an early age, our son was exposed to my husband’s college-level lectures on how to work while in college, how to invest your savings, how to never lease a car, how to buy the right home, etc. BUT, I think our son could benefit from hearing those things (and more) from somebody other than his boring, old dad.
So, that’s where Beyond Personal Finance is going to help!
Read on for a full review.
WHAT IS BEYOND PERSONAL FINANCE?
Beyond Personal Finance is an online course and workbook designed to give teens the opportunity to try out their dream future before it’s actually real. It’s a 20-week semester course during which students choose (and budget for) a career, car, apartment, spouse, house, investments, and so much more. Beyond Personal Finance was created by Charla McKinley a decade ago.
WHO IS CHARLA McKINLEY?
Charla McKinley has a degree in Finance and worked as a CPA for over 25 years in both the corporate and private sectors. While homeschooling her two children, she was inspired to write an interactive personal finance curriculum that opens the student’s eyes to the high costs of being an adult. Charla’s passion is teaching teens that their choices matter. She is a firm believer that in order to prepare teens for the road ahead they must be given the opportunity to practice making good (and not so good) choices using real dollars before they get out into the world and have real regrets.
HOW IS THE COURSE STRUCTURED?
Beyond Personal Finance is divided into 20 lessons which the author refers to as years. Each lesson presents a new financial situation the student needs to address (buying a car, getting an apartment, getting engaged, etc) that spans the next twenty years of their life.
Each lesson includes a video lesson from Charla followed by things to do in the workbook, a budget assignment and a reflection piece.
There is also a “Teacher Talk” video that parents are encouraged to watch before their student starts a new lesson. It gives a brief overview of the lesson which I think is an extremely valuable feature.
Assignments are completed in Google Docs or Sheets and submitted to the parent/teacher.
HOW ARE THE MATERIALS FORMATTED?
Beyond Personal Finance is an online, self-paced course that also requires a physical workbook. This is the perfect combo for us. My son loves the convenience of online courses but always wants a physical textbook to go along with it. It seems to help keep him organized, keep him more accountable and just give him a better learning experience.
The workbook is included in the purchase price of the online course. Take a peek inside with the video below.
The lessons presented by Charla, the author of Beyond Personal Finance, are located on the website. Unfortunately, like nearly every other site we have used for a self-paced course, Beyond Personal Finance is using platform that is not exactly designed for what it wants to do. Don’t get me wrong. The platform works well enough for this course. And Charla has gone far beyond the minimum in trying to clearly explain how to use the platform, where to find all the pieces, when to go where, why to use this vs that, etc. But, the sheer fact that she has to do all that solidifies the fact that the platform is not perfect for this product. (NOTE: I exclude MYTEK Lab from this common issue and believe Stephen and Jacky Souders should go into the business of creating a platform for courses such as these.)
But don’t let the less-than-perfect platform speak for the quality of the content. After you and your student have used the course for a bit, knowing HOW to use it will be second-nature.
The quality of the material is excellent!
WHAT TOPICS ARE COVERED?
Charla did a phenomenal job of not only including the obvious (buying a car, buying a house, etc) but she also saw the need to cover some very real, but often ignored topics like getting laid off, needing a second car and even getting a divorce. Her objective is to arm your student with as much as possible in advance in order to make the best financial decisions.
Here is a full list of topics:
- Careers and Education
- Budgeting
- Apartment Rental
- Car Purchase
- Credit Cards
- Marriage
- Interest
- Babies & Payroll
- House Purchase
- Insurance
- Charitable Giving
- Investments
- Business Basics
- Lay Off
- Financial Tracking
- Income Tax
- Divorce
- Retirement
In addition to the topics above, there are built-in reviews.
WHAT AGES/GRADES IS THIS GOOD FOR?
There are two courses:
- Before Personal Finance (8-12 years)
- Beyond Personal Finance (teens)
DOES THIS COURSE COUNT FOR HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT?
I always say “it depends on your state” when this question is posed about any curriculum. As a current homeschool mom of a high schooler in a very lax state, I have every intention of giving my son a semester credit for this class. Where I am going to put this class, I am not sure of yet, but, I absolutely believe the content and rigor of this course is worth credit.
HOW MUCH DOES BEYOND PERSONAL FINANCE COST?
For one student, the cost of the recorded video lessons and physical workbook is $150. If you need to purchase additional workbooks, you can for $50 each. If you have more than five students, Beyond Personal Finance offers a “group experience”
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFO?
