What this course covers, and your first goal
Concept
Money skills are mostly about a few ideas used over and over: knowing what you actually earn, deciding where each dollar goes before you spend it, letting interest work for you instead of against you, and knowing what things really cost, including the taxes and insurance that come with them.
After this welcome, the course covers those ideas in seven short modules:
- Your paycheck: why the amount you earn isn't the amount you get.
- Budgeting: giving every dollar a job.
- Interest, saving and investing: how money grows, and why starting early matters.
- Borrowing and credit: what loans and credit cards really cost.
- Taxes and the cost of living: every tax in a year, and why where you live matters.
- Insurance and health costs: the whole cost, not just the monthly price.
- Goals: a car, a home, and what's next.
Every lesson has a calculator. Change the numbers and watch the result move. Every calculator is also a spreadsheet you can download and keep.
We start with a goal, because a goal is what makes the rest of this useful. A good goal has a dollar amount and a date. Together they turn a wish into a monthly number.
Worked example
Jordan is 16 and wants a used car that costs about $3,000 in 15 months. Jordan has $200 saved and keeps savings in an account that pays 4% interest.
The gap is $2,800. Spread over 15 months, with a little interest helping, Jordan needs to save about $181 a month, or about $42 a week. At $15 an hour, that's about 12 hours of work a month (before taxes, which Module 1 explains).
If Jordan can only save $150 a month, the goal takes 19 months instead of 15. Same goal, different date. Seeing that trade-off is the point.
Your numbers, and the effect
Pick a goal of your own: a car, a laptop, a trip, money for college, or your first apartment deposit. Enter the amount, what you've saved, and when you need it.
You're in the free preview. Change any number to see the effect.
Try making the date later, or the amount smaller, and watch the monthly number fall. Then try a higher monthly amount and see how much sooner you get there.
Checkpoint
Answer at least 70% correctly to unlock the next lesson. Retakes are unlimited, and every answer is explained.
Common questions
I don't have a job yet. Can I still take this course?
Yes. The examples use a typical first job, and you can change every number. Many students use the course to plan for a summer job or their first full-time job.
Is any of this financial advice?
No. The course teaches how money works and gives you tools to run your own numbers. It never tells you what to buy or which company to use.
Where do the tax numbers come from?
Federal brackets, the standard deduction and payroll taxes come from the IRS and the Social Security Administration for 2026. State income and sales tax rates come from the Tax Foundation. Each tool says which year its numbers are for.
Still stuck? Search the help center or the glossary.
Module 0 self-check
Can you explain to a friend why a goal with a dollar amount and a date is easier to reach than "save more"?
which you can check against your pay and your budget. "Save more" has no number to check, so it's
easy to put off.