Go beyond literacy.

Most personal finance programs teach students about money. Budget Challenge® combines a comprehensive textbook with a hands-on 10-week simulation so students don't just learn the words — they practice the literacy, skills, and behaviors necessary to create financially capable young adults.

The 10-week simulation runs inside your semester.

A common misconception: do I use the textbook or the simulation? The whole design is about using them together. Read about credit on Monday, manage the credit card on Tuesday, take the chapter quiz on Friday — for 10 of the 17–18 weeks of your semester.

A typical 17–18 week semester
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Setup 2 weeks
10-Week Simulation runs alongside the textbook chapters
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Simulations start every Thursday — pick the week that works best for your semester.

The 17-Chapter Textbook

Budget Challenge® Personal Finance is a full 17-chapter high-school textbook — vocabulary, concepts, real-world activities, math and ELA integration, and "In-the-Sim" sections that bridge what students read to what they're doing in the simulation.

We got you covered: Budget Challenge teaches 100% of all published standards in the United States, national and state. See live standards map →

Every student license includes the full e-textbook.

Paper copies are also available from Barnes & Noble.

Paperback $39.95  ·  Hardcover $69.95

Buy on Barnes & Noble →
Budget Challenge Personal Finance textbook cover

Built into every chapter

Click any item below to see what it looks like in every chapter.

The 10-Week Simulation

Another common misconception: a 10-week simulation will eat the time you need for the textbook.

It's the opposite. Most of the simulation runs outside class — payments, balance checks, bill reviews on the student's own schedule — so it doesn't compete for instruction time. When it runs alongside the textbook, it's an accelerant: students pay simulated rent on Monday, watch a credit-card statement post on Tuesday, look for the next paycheck on Friday. The textbook stops being abstract because every concept has a live stake.

Teachers consistently see what learning research has shown for decades: students learn faster when traditional instruction is paired with hands-on application — the brain forms connections between concepts more quickly when those concepts have to be used. And the mistakes students make in the simulation — a late fee, an overdraft, a surprise statement balance — become teachable moments for the whole class. Mistakes are often the most powerful teaching tool there is, especially when the stakes are real but the money isn't. The combined result: chapters land faster, stick longer, and need less reteaching — so teachers cover more of the textbook, not less.

What students learn by doing

Pay bills on time

Build a working budget

Manage the credit card

Invest in a 401(k)

Survive the unexpected

Earning trophies scores points in the competition.

9 Trophies

Students earn trophies for accomplishing vital financial goals — paying every bill on time, building an emergency fund, capturing the 401(k) employer match, and six more. Each trophy rewards a behavior, not a test score.

Expert-recommended investing essentials

Investing

For young adults, the highest-value way to invest is also the simplest one — automatic, low-effort, and expert-recommended. +Investing teaches that approach, and nothing else.

Optional/Included
Teacher Resources

What you get as the teacher

You don't need to be a finance expert. The simulation does the teaching. You coach, monitor, and watch the moments when something clicks. Hover any tile to see what's inside.

Teachers' favorite assessment.

The Engagement Score

The Engagement Score tracks 7 habits financially healthy adults practice — pay bills, read mail, check accounts, monitor goals — measured continuously over the 10-week simulation. Habits decay when ignored, just like real-world finances do.

Teacher Guide

Lesson suggestions, answer keys, syllabi, parent letters, discussion prompts, pacing guide, and other materials to support textbook use.

Teacher Guide

Page 26 has a Simulation Readiness Checklist. Pages 21–25 list every program resource at your disposal. Most teachers say the first 66 pages are the foundation.

Pacing Guide

A sample template for fully utilizing both the textbook and simulation in a typical semester-length class.

Pacing Guide

Aligns simulation weeks to textbook chapters and standards coverage. Pre-simulation weeks 1–2 cover Ch. 1–2 and registration; the 10-week sim covers Ch. 3 onward in sync with what students are doing.

Weekly Guide

A weekly email that highlights just-in-time elements from the Teacher Guide and Pacing Guide.

Weekly Guide

You don't need to remember what's coming next. The Weekly Guide arrives in your inbox with the prompts, activities, and conversations to lead each week.

Engagement Booster

Makes it easy to identify students who are not engaged and the reason.

Engagement Booster

Catches struggling students early. Tells you exactly which behavior is missing — late payments, no savings deposits, no portfolio activity — so you can intervene before it's too late.

Chapter Presentations

Editable presentations of textbook content for all chapters, available from the Textbook tab of the Teacher Homepage.

Chapter Presentations

Plus answer keys, glossary, ELA Connections, Math Applications, and Real-World Activity sheets — everything you need for direct instruction days.

Quiz Scheduler

Select which quizzes to assign and when. Schedule the entire semester at once or week by week.

Quiz Scheduler

You decide what's graded and when. Customize per class. Skip chapters you've already covered. Students see what's due, you see what's complete.

Also included: Answer Keys Readiness Checklist Parent Letters Parent Survey Live Training Webinars Class & National Leaderboard
Student Tools

Built into the simulation

Tools students use every week to engage with the simulation, plan their finances, and see the long view of their decisions.

Cash Flow Budget Tool

Students project future cash flow to make informed financial decisions — the same kind of forward-looking budget grown adults use.

Paycheck Calculator

Shows the effect of different 401(k) contributions on net pay — and reinforces the tax benefits of contributing pre-tax.

Retirement Projector

Appears after the fourth paycheck. Shows the future value of each student's investments — extending their 10-week behavior across a 40-year working life.

Bill Pay App

Optional mobile app for paying bills on the go. Downloadable from the Apple Store and Google Play. Keeps the simulation accessible 24/7.

Certificates

Print or download certificates of achievement in financial literacy, financial capability, and investing — earned by students who complete the program.

Benchmarking Survey

Measure the Budget Challenge difference by comparing the improvements of your class against the largest national data set.

Support

You're not on your own

Real humans answer real questions. Students get help when they're stuck. Teachers get coached when something's new.

Student Help Desk

Support is available through the online Help Desk and by email. Submit 24/7; answers within one business day. Teachers are CC'd on every response, so questions get resolved without waiting for class.

Teacher Help Desk

Support is available through the online Help Desk, by email, and by phone. For setup questions, technical issues, or any time you want a real person on the line.

Phone Support

Help Desk phone support for teachers is available weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, except holidays. Request a call from the online Teacher Help Desk.

Live Training Webinars

Customized for an individual teacher or group, scheduled at convenient times. New teachers get a 1-on-1 walkthrough before their first launch.

Try Budget Challenge for yourself.

Create a free teacher account and run a Teacher Play — your own simulated financial life: a job, salary, bills, bank accounts, credit cards, and the same experience your students will have.

Create your free teacher account → See the outcomes