🏠 Built for Homeschool Families · Ages 13–18
✓ Meets & Exceeds National Standards for Personal Finance Education

Raise a teen who
understands money.

Real money skills. No textbooks.

Teen Money Independence is a complete 12-week personal finance curriculum for teenagers. Built for homeschool families and classroom educators — no financial expertise required on your part.

8Units
Money through college & career
44Lessons
~45 minutes each
12Weeks
Self-paced options available
18Activities
Games to do together
The Gap

Most teens enter adulthood financially unprepared.

They know how to solve for x. They can name the planets. But they don't know how to read a pay stub, build a budget, or understand why their credit score will matter more than their GPA when they try to rent their first apartment.

Teen Money Independence closes that gap — lesson by lesson, unit by unit — before those decisions arrive.

Only 25%
of U.S. states require a personal finance course for high school graduation
57%
of Americans are financially illiterate, according to the FINRA Foundation
$1,000
average amount teens lose to avoidable fees and interest in their first year of financial independence
8 Units · 44 Lessons · 12 Weeks

Everything from a first paycheck
to a first job offer.

Each unit builds on the last. By the end, your teen has a complete financial foundation — not just theory, but applied skills.

💵
Unit 01 · Week 1
Money Fundamentals
5 lessons · How money works, pay stubs, banking basics
📊
Unit 02 · Weeks 2–3
Budgeting
5 lessons · 50/30/20 rule, envelope method, tracking spending, budget simulation
🏦
Unit 03 · Week 3
Saving & Emergency Funds
4 lessons · High-yield savings, automating savings, emergency planning
💳
Unit 04 · Weeks 4–5
Credit & Debt
5 lessons · FICO factors, interest, credit card traps, student loans
🧾
Unit 05 · Weeks 5–6
Taxes
6 lessons · Income tax, FICA, filing a return, deductions vs. credits
📈
Unit 06 · Weeks 7–8
Investing & Wealth Building
7 lessons · Compound interest, index funds, Roth IRA, cryptocurrency & digital assets
🏠
Unit 07 · Weeks 9–10
Housing & Insurance
6 lessons · Renting, mortgages, health insurance, consumer rights
🎓
Unit 08 · Weeks 11–12
College & Career
6 lessons · FAFSA, student loans, reading a job offer, salary negotiation
Who It's For

Built for homeschool families.

Most personal finance curricula are built for classrooms. Teen Money Independence is built for families — self-paced, hands-on, and designed so parents and teens learn together. No financial expertise required.

👨‍👩‍👧
Homeschool Parent

You handle the instruction. We handle the curriculum. No financial expertise required — the lesson guides, discussion questions, and answer keys do the heavy lifting.

  • Complete lesson plans with teaching notes
  • 18 family activities to do together
  • Discussion questions with model answers
  • Self-paced — work at your own schedule
🏫
Classroom Educator

A ready-to-teach curriculum with everything from slide decks to grading rubrics. Spend your time teaching, not building.

  • Slide decks for every lesson
  • 7 assessment rubrics included
  • Unit quizzes with complete answer keys
  • Built-in discussion and debate prompts
  • Educator Activity Pack — classroom adaptations for all 18 activities
🎓
Independent Learner

Motivated teens can work through the curriculum independently. The interactive tools make it engaging without a facilitator.

  • Interactive simulators for hands-on learning
  • Progress tracking across all 8 units
  • Quiz bank with instant feedback
  • Offline-capable — no internet required
Included Tools

Not just reading. Doing.

Every tool is built into the curriculum and accessible offline. Students don't just learn about taxes — they simulate them.

💰
Budget Lab

Students build a real monthly budget from a given income scenario — assigning every dollar a category, comparing 50/30/20 vs. zero-based methods, and calculating trade-offs.

Unit 2
🧮
Tax Simulator

Covers all 50 states. Students enter income, hours, and filing status to see exactly how federal and state taxes are calculated — including a simulated Form 1040 walkthrough.

Unit 5
🏠
Housing Calculator

A rent vs. buy analysis tool with sliders for home price, down payment, mortgage rate, and appreciation — showing the true 10-year cost of renting vs. buying in real time.

Unit 7
🛡️
Insurance Planner

Students explore health, auto, and renters insurance scenarios — adjusting deductibles, coverage levels, and income to see exactly what they'd pay out of pocket for real events.

Unit 7
🎓
College Cost Planner

Enter any college's net price and expected salary, then see total loan burden, monthly payment, and whether the degree pencils out financially. Includes FAFSA aid estimation.

Unit 8
✏️
Quiz Bank

48 multiple-choice questions across all 8 units — 6 per unit. Each answer includes a full explanation so students understand not just what's right, but why. Instant feedback and retry.

All Units
🏅
Certificate of Completion

Finish all 44 lessons and earn a printable Certificate of Completion — designed for homeschool portfolios, transcripts, and college applications. A real finish line for a real accomplishment.

On Completion
The Story

Real decisions. Real consequences.

Every unit follows four teen characters making the exact financial decisions your student will face within the next few years. Abstract concepts become personal.

📋
Lucy
The Planner

Methodical and disciplined. Starts as an authorized user at 16, builds a strong credit file, automates her savings. Her story shows what consistent early decisions look like over time.

"What habits does Lucy have that are easiest to start right now?"
🛍️
Joseph
The Impulsive Spender

Learns from costly mistakes. Multiple credit card applications, skips renters insurance, over-borrows for college. His story isn't a cautionary tale — it's a recovery story.

"What was Joseph's costliest mistake, and what would you have done differently?"
🔧
Alex
The Trade School Path

Debt-averse and practical. Graduates with $0 in student debt, opens a Roth IRA early. Demonstrates that a four-year degree is not always the right — or best — financial path.

"What does Alex's path show about comparing different kinds of education?"
🏦
Sofia
The Over-Cautious Saver

Avoids all debt products. No credit card debt — but also a thin credit file by Unit 8. Her story shows that being too conservative has its own real costs.

"How can someone do everything 'safely' and still end up in a weaker position?"
From Families

What homeschool families are saying.

Real feedback from parents and teens who've used Teen Money Independence. More reviews coming as our first families complete the curriculum.

★★★★★

"My 16-year-old actually sat down and read the lessons without me asking. The characters made it feel real — not like homework. By Unit 3 she had opened her own savings account."

M
Michelle T.
Homeschool parent · Virginia
★★★★★

"We did the Barter Challenge as a family activity and it turned into a two-hour conversation about money that we've never had before. The activities are the best part."

R
Robert & Karen L.
Homeschool family · Texas
💬
More reviews coming soon Our first families are working through the curriculum now. If you've used Teen Money Independence, we'd love to hear from you.
Share your experience →
44
Lessons
18
Family Activities
284
Vocab Terms
~33
Course Hours
50
States Covered
Curriculum Standards

Meets & exceeds national standards.

Teen Money Independence is aligned with the National Standards for Personal Finance Education published by the Council for Economic Education — the benchmark used by schools across the United States. We don't just meet the standard. We go further.

✓ Earning Income
✓ Spending
✓ Saving
✓ Investing
✓ Managing Credit
✓ Managing Risk

Plus: Cryptocurrency, Salary Negotiation, College ROI, and Tax Simulation across all 50 states — topics most curricula don't cover at all.

🏅
National Standards
for Personal Finance
Education
Council for Economic
Education
ALIGNED & EXCEEDED
Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing.

One-time purchase. No subscription, no renewal, no monthly fees. Yours forever.

Educator
For classroom teachers & co-ops
$197 one-time

Everything in Family plus full classroom materials.

  • Everything in Family
  • Slide decks for all 44 lessons
  • 7 assessment rubrics
  • Unit quizzes with complete answer keys
  • Printable answer key (standalone)
  • Teacher's Guide — lesson plans, model answers & teaching notes for all 44 lessons
  • Educator Activity Pack — all 18 activities classroom-ready
Try Demo First →
School / Co-op
For multi-classroom or co-op licensing
$497 /year

Up to 30 students. Contact us for larger groups.

  • Everything in Educator
  • Multiple educator accounts
  • Student roster & class progress
  • Priority support
  • Custom onboarding
Contact Us
Why TMI

Why homeschool families choose TMI.

We built this for the homeschool family that wants a serious curriculum — not a worksheet packet, not a corporate textbook.

🏠
Self-paced for families

No semester schedule, no class period. Work through lessons at whatever pace fits your family's routine — one lesson a day or one a week.

🎮
18 family activities

From the Barter Challenge to Salary Negotiation Roleplay — games you play together that make the lessons stick. Most take 20–45 minutes.

🎓
No expertise required

Every lesson has discussion questions with model answers. You don't need to know the difference between a Roth IRA and an index fund to teach it.

📱
Works offline

Install as an app on any device. All 44 lessons, simulators, and activities are available offline — no internet required once installed.

💰
One price, no subscription

Pay once and it's yours. No monthly fees, no annual renewal, no "per student" pricing. One family, one price, use it as long as you want.

🔍
Try before you buy

Unit 1 is completely free — no account required. See the full lesson format, try the activities, and decide if it's right for your family before spending a dollar.

FAQ

Questions from homeschool families.

Do I need to be a financial expert to teach this?

No. Every lesson includes discussion questions with complete model answers, and the Teacher's Guide walks through exactly what to cover and why. Your role is to facilitate — the curriculum does the teaching.

What ages is this designed for?

Ages 13–18. The curriculum is most effective for students in 9th–12th grade who have some experience with money (a job, an allowance, or managing spending). Mature 12-year-olds often do very well with it.

Does it have to be done in 12 weeks?

No — 12 weeks is the suggested pace at about 3–4 lessons per week. Families commonly spread it over a semester, do it in intensive stretches, or revisit specific units as money situations come up in real life.

Is this a subscription?

No. One-time purchase. The Family plan is $97 and the curriculum is yours permanently — no renewal, no monthly fee. Use it for one child or four.

Can I see it before buying?

Yes — Unit 1 is completely free with no account required. Click "Try Unit 1 Free" anywhere on this page to access all 5 lessons, the vocabulary tools, discussion questions, and the first family activity.

What's the difference between the Family and Educator plans?

The Family plan ($97) includes the full interactive curriculum — all 44 lessons, 18 activities, and built-in tools. The Educator plan ($197) adds classroom materials: slide decks, assessment rubrics, unit quizzes, a comprehensive Teacher's Guide with lesson plans, discussion guides, and model answers for all 44 lessons, and the Educator Activity Pack with classroom adaptations.

Ready to start?

Your teen will learn more about money
in 12 weeks than most adults know.

🏅 Complete all 44 lessons and earn a printable Certificate of Completion — perfect for homeschool portfolios and transcripts.

Try Unit 1 completely free — no account required. See exactly what your teen will learn before you decide.