Personal Finance Unit for California High Schools: 10 Lessons, Unit Test & Budget Capstone (9–12)

What you get: a 69-page printable PDF unit for grades 9–12. Instant PDF download; nothing is shipped.

What's inside

• Teacher guide, a topic map to the AB 2927 topic list and a 4-week pacing calendar (with two-week, block and semester options)
• 10 lessons: paychecks, pay stubs and taxes; budgeting (50/30/20 and zero-based); banking; credit scores and credit cards; loans and paying for college (FAFSA and CADAA); saving, giving and money mindset; investing and compound interest; insurance; renting a first apartment in California; scams, fraud and identity theft
• Each lesson has a teacher plan, a one-page student handout, a practice activity, a two-per-page exit ticket and a full answer key
• Unit test in two forms (Form A and Form B) with answer keys and scoring guide
• "My First Year on My Own" budget capstone: job cards, housing cards, "life happens" cards, budget worksheet and a 4-level rubric
• 36 vocabulary cards and a family letter in English and Spanish

Every worked example and answer key was calculated and re-checked in code. Social Security and Medicare use the real 2026 employee rates; income tax withholding and fees are labelled illustrative. All people, employers, banks and apartments are fictional. US Letter, static PDF, prints well in black and white.

Classroom use included

The Classroom license covers one teacher and that teacher's own classes: print as many copies as your students need, or post pages to your password-protected class LMS. The School site license covers every teacher at one school site; the District license covers up to 10 sites. Purchase orders: see our School Portal.

About AB 2927

California's AB 2927 (Chapter 37, Statutes of 2024) adds a one-semester personal finance course to the state's high school graduation requirements, beginning with students graduating in the 2030–31 school year. Public high schools, including charter schools, must offer the course beginning in the 2027–28 school year. The law lists 13 topic areas, including banking, budgeting, net income, credit, loans, insurance, taxes, investing, consumer protection, financing college and career training, the psychology of money and charitable giving. The State Board of Education adopted a Personal Finance Curriculum Guide on March 11, 2026 (California Department of Education). This unit introduces all 13 topic areas. It is a 3–4 week unit, not a complete semester course, and it is an independent resource, not published, approved or endorsed by the California Department of Education.

Educational material, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice.

Funding fit: Schools often use Title I/SPSA or LCFF funds for resources like this; your district decides.

Send this to my principal

Guide: California's Personal Finance Graduation Requirement (AB 2927): A Guide for High Schools

Pairs well with

• Career Readiness & First Job Kit (EN/ES): students land a first job and read their first pay stub there, then plan what to do with the paycheck here.