BPF Alumni Scholarship

 Mrs. McKinley did an incredible job conveying the reality of the financial aspect of life. This class was very hands on through thorough and practical budget plans, which kept the class interesting. I highly recommend this class!  

- Student, 2021 Class 

 I cannot say enough good things about Charla McKinley of Beyond Personal Finance. Her program is engaging, educational, and interesting, and my 16-year-old daughter actually looked forward to class times. The material also led to interesting discussions at home as she probed more into financial topics. My daughter told me Charla was warm and fun with her students, even when dealing what can be considered somewhat dry materials. She had a great time in Charla's class and I recommend this class highly. 

- Mom, 2021 Class

I didn’t realize how much I had to learn about money and being an adult. I thought a finance class would be super boring but it was really fun and I learned a lot. The teacher is amazing! Good for a review or even if you don’t know anything about finances like me.  

- Student, 2020 Class

 We have been telling everyone about this class. It is so well-conceived and well-executed. The lessons that our girls learned will have an enormous impact on them as they navigate financial decisions throughout their lives. And they had fun learning! I wish that I had taken a class like this when I was younger. I highly recommend this class for any teen. 

- Mom, 2020 Class

 My 12 and 14 year olds took this over the summer, and WOW, what a well thought out class with fun elements to keep their interest. I can't think of a better way to teach kids the personal finance & budgeting life skills that they will NEED to know in order to survive on their own -- and not just in a theoretical way, but with a nitty-gritty, hands-on approach (ie not just learning about the IRS and taxes as a concept, but also making real calculations like finding taxable income using deductions and exemptions, and then looking at tax tables to find out the tax they will actually pay!!) And although these topics might normally make my kids (and me!) glaze over, the teacher makes it fun. Class is structured as a game to see who can retire comfortably based on the choices they make --and the various curve balls thrown at them (ie congrats you're having twins!, or bummer your basement just flooded) -- throughout their lives. There's humor to lighten things up, which my kids really appreciated. There is a printed manual that covers the content and is helpful to refer to for homework, and all of the zoom/Outschool web sessions are recorded, which was also helpful the few times they had to miss class. There was homework each session, which ensured the kids paid attention during class (usually taking just 20-25 minutes per class), and "open-notes" quizzes as homework as well. This was a great way to add something super-useful (that I didn't need to oversee) to their schedules during 2020's boring summer. And the teacher was very open to suggestions and feedback from me as a parent. The early results - my kids have become so much more aware of how expensive life is (yes!!), and are more realistically thinking through discretionary spending. I wish I had a course like this when I was their age - so valuable. Thank you, Charla! 

- Outschool Class Parent, 2020 Class 

  

My daughter took your course through a local homeschool coop. The class was very eye opening to her & brought up lots of discussions in our home as a result. It was great! 

- Mom, 2020 Co-op class

Both of my high school students took your class last year and we all loved it! My husband frequently commented that he wished we had had a similar class in high school. I found it to be one of the most enjoyable curriculums I’ve used in my 11 years homeschooling.

- Mom, 2020 Class

  

Our whole family really enjoyed this class! It is the only class during our one year of homeschool that we discussed vigorously and happily during dinner. We still talk about the class, one year later. I think the class really opened my girls’ eyes as to what types of jobs provide what types of income, and how much it costs to actually live! I think they saw how different decisions and life choices can really impact your financial life. It was a very valuable class that I would recommend to every teenager!

- Mom, 2020 "At Home" Teacher

  

We used Beyond Personal Finance for our two teen boys. One was in 9th grade and the other was in 12th. It was stressful for them in good ways. They both felt the pressure of surprise financial burdens the curriculum assigned to them, like being forced to buy a car or a home.  My son who used to brag about the fancy car he planned to drive in the future realized that he couldn’t afford a regular car easily and would have to sacrifice and save to have his needs covered. My son who was making decisions in real life about where to attend college as he took the class, understood in a new way how much of an impact student loans would have on his future, and he ultimately walked away from his first choice school because a different school offered him better scholarships and would create less student debt. (It turns out that the second choice school has been a better fit for him than the other school would have been, and he couldn’t be happier there.) Before the class, before seeing the impact of student loan payments on the monthly budget, my son didn’t think student loans were anything to be concerned about. The class changed the way my sons look at money and gave them a new awareness of how hard it is to cover the basic expenses of food, clothing, a home, and a car.  I want all of my kids to take this course before they decide which colleges they want to apply to or what they will do after high school, because without this course they lack insight on the financial burdens of adult life and how to be prepared for them.

- Mom, 2020 "At Home" Teacher

For a kid that typically procrastinates and doesn’t care for “school”, he’s really getting into your class. I love it!   - Mom, 2020 Class

We are enjoying the curriculum.  It has actually been encouraging for my daughter who was overwhelmed at how to pay for college loans.  She is seeing that she can make wise choices both in spending and career decisions and will do fine.  It has been much more realistic for her than other personal finance programs which tend to stress her out.  My other kids are already asking when they can start.  - Mom, 2019 "At Home"  Teacher

 We started BPF this morning. I planned for us to divide Lesson 1 into two days. We finished up what I had planned for day 1 and my girls begged to keep going, so we finished all of Lesson 1 and they begged to go on to Lesson 2...but I made them stop so that we could move on to another subject!  - Mom, 2019 "At Home" Teacher

My son has learned so much taking your class. This is in our top three best classes for all teens to take. I see so many churches offering other programs and sadly those programs are designed for the huge amount of people in a tremendous amount of debt. This program gives a proactive approach to looking at finances and choosing wisely instead of trying to fix your finances after making bad choices.  - Mom, 2019 Class

 One of the BEST classes my senior took in high school. Personal finance is critically important for everyone to understand to help avoid the pitfalls that so many people fall into after graduation.  "Life Skills" need to be taught along side of math, social studies and science.   Most adults don't end up struggling in life because they can't remember how to use the Pythagorean Theorem, but too many suffer if they do not understand basic financial principles.  For all parents considering this class, sign up your student today. Charla does a great job teaching this very important "life skill" in a fun and logical way. Give your student the tools they need to thrive financially and in life.  Thanks again Charla for this wonderful program! Your work will have a lasting, positive impact on families and marriages for generations.  - Dad, 2019 AM Class

I love how you structure your class to be like real life!  Thank you for teaching these life lessons!     -  Mom, 2018 PM Class

 Every teen should take this class in order to prepare them for important financial decisions later in life.            -  Student, 2018 AM Class

I thought the class was awesome!  I learned that life takes money.  - Student, 2018 PM Class

I personally believe that this class was flawless.  The math and concepts were explained very thoroughly.  I would take this class again.  - Student, 2018 AM Class

I feel it has given them a true taste of what living on her own will be like financially. There was a nice mix of letting the kids choose their own path in life with housing and job choices while still having to deal with the "unexpected" issues that will really crop up in normal living.  It gave the kids a more balanced view of living on their own rather than just having them pretend to find a job and an apartment after college.  Plus, it made the class fun! My kids would excitedly tell me on the way home in the car all the "new" things that happened in their "life" that they now had to deal with/plan for  (marriage, birth of children, cars breaking down, etc) Your class has definitely been one of their favorites.  - Mom, 2017 Class