FAQs
How is this curriculum different from others out there?
This class allows your student to look into the future and make real life choices for his/herself. With other personal finance books/curriculum you simply learn about finance. This class will let your student live it. And isn't life a better teacher than a book?
Do I have to understand finance to help my student?
No! The financial concepts are written and explained so that most students and adults can understand them. The goal of this class is not to make a Financial Consultant out of your student. Rather, the goal is to open his/her eyes to the costly choices ahead of him/her and help him/her make the connection between his/her current choices and the future financial consequences.
What materials come with the purchase?
No need to print your own materials, we have everything you need! Upon purchase, you will receive a 300 page, full-color Student Workbook to use while watching the pre-recorded teaching videos. In addition, you will receive access to a Teacher and Student Portal that contain the videos, homework links and additional guidance needed to complete the course. For a peek at the portals, click HERE.
What age would you recommend for this product?
The curriculum is designed for middle school and high school students with a working knowledge of decimals, percentages and basic algebra. An assessment to determine if your student is ready for the class is provided at the bottom of the Self-Paced & Live Classes page of this website.
How is each lesson structured?
Each session varies based on the content covered but the structure of each of the 20 lessons generally runs like this for the self-paced course:
- The parent/teacher has a short video (less than 5 mins) where they can hear what will be covered and supplement the learning with lessons from their own experience
- A 20-30 minute instructional video the student watches first where the material is taught and work is explained
- Lesson choice and budget work is completed taking about 20 minutes.
- Budget work is reviewed by the parent/teacher to make sure the numbers are entered into the spreadsheet correctly (it is inevitable that the student will get the tax number wrong because it is such a large expense, they can’t believe it is real!)
Those are the official time “requirements” of the course. Based on the feedback I have heard from other families, there is lots of discussion now that the student's eyes are opened (“Wow, I never knew how much ____ cost” or “I was(n’t) able to afford _____ because I spent my money on _____ in an earlier lesson). This kind of rich discussion is often the best part for the parent/teacher.
How long do I have access to the online content?
We love our electronic portal because it allows us to constantly update and enhance our materials. Upon purchase, you will receive access to the Student and Teacher portals. This access will be active for 365 days from the date of purchase. If you would like to suspend the activation on your account until you are ready to get started, that is no problem. Simply reply to the purchase confirmation email and let us know you would like to temporarily suspend the account. Worried that it might take you longer than 365 days to complete? We are confident that this class will not drag on like the others because your student will be eager to see what happens in his life "next". But, just in case life gets in the way, simply shoot us an email and we will be glad to grant you an extension.
What if I have younger kids who want to use this product later?
We know you are going to love this experience and have younger kids who want to do it too. That is great! You may reactivate your subscription at any time for the cost of an Additional Student, $50. The link to add an additional student to your current subscription is here: https://bpfclass.com/products/ols/products/bpf-additionalstudent
What about grades?
The philosophy of this class is to make the experience as true to life as possible. Therefore, I don't place a high value on the class grade but instead use raises as a way to communicate to the students their performance in class. If a grade is required, guidance for grading the material is provided in the Teacher Portal. For those who require a letter grade for a transcript, one will be provided if your student attends a live class.
Your class allows the student to use loans for expenses, why is that? Isn't debt bad?
Yes, debt is bad. I allow students to make the mistake of using student loan debt and car debt in their "future life" so that they can experience the pain firsthand. The hope is that they will begin to understand the long lasting effects these loans will have.
How does the Money Back Guarantee work?
I am so confident that you will see financial maturation in your child that I am offering a money back guarantee. If your student does not show signs of financial enlightenment after 8 lessons (60 days), simply return the books to me and I will issue you a full refund of your course fee.