Personal Finance — Live Online Spring | High School Elective (½ Credit, Grade 9–12)

Practice Adulting — Before It Actually Counts

Personal Finance is a live, weekly online class where your homeschooled high schooler steps into adult life and takes it for a test drive. They take a career questionnaire and choose a job, build a monthly budget around a real paycheck, pay the bills, buy a house and a car, and even play the stock market — all in a safe, competitive classroom where mistakes cost lessons, not real dollars.

This isn’t a workbook on a screen or a self-paced video library. It is a real classroom with a real teacher — a small group where your student is known, called on, and cheered on every week. True North Academy is the accredited school. Your family is the home. Together, we point your student toward Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in one of the most practical areas of adult life: how to steward money well.

The Class Where Your Teen Learns by Doing

Most teens hear “budget” and tune out. In this class, they live it. Over the semester, your student runs a full life simulation and sees exactly how today’s choices shape tomorrow’s freedom:

• They choose a career and salary — then discovers what that paycheck really covers.
• They build a monthly budget
• They wrestle with rent or a mortgage, a car payment, groceries, insurance, and the surprise expenses real life loves to throw.
• They shop for a house and a car
• They invest in the stock market
• They compete on a live leaderboard, so learning stays hands-on, game-like, and genuinely fun.

They’ll try strategies, make mistakes, learn, and try again — without losing a cent. Think of all the money they’ll save in the years to come.

What Your Student Will Learn

• How to build and follow a monthly budget on a real paycheck
• The basics of saving, banking, and investing — and why starting early matters
• How to use credit wisely and sidestep the debt traps that catch most young adults
• How to weigh the real costs and payoffs of college, trade school, and career paths
• How to make confident decisions about housing, transportation, and big purchases
• How to view money through a lens of biblical stewardship — as a tool, not a master

What to Expect Each Week

• A live, weekly class on Zoom with a real teacher and a small group of peers
• Hands-on simulation work — budgets, spending decisions, and investment moves
• Real discussion about real money situations teens will actually face
• A weekly leaderboard that keeps the learning active and engaging
• A final project: your student presents a complete financial plan
• Teacher feedback, real assessments, and accredited high school credit

Faith and Stewardship at the Center

Money is never just math. Woven through every unit is the conviction that what we earn, save, and give reflects what we believe. Your student learns to handle money as a faithful steward — generous, wise, and free from the anxiety that money so often brings. This is Education with a Difference: practical skills for this life, formed by an eternal perspective.

Taught by a Teacher Who Knows This Cold

Julia Jinks has guided over 100 students through Beyond Personal Finance. She teaches this class live every week — not a recording, not an app — leading the simulation, answering questions in real time, and knowing each student by name in a small, discussion-friendly class.

Course Details at a Glance

• Course name: Personal Finance (Live Online)
• Grade level: Grades 10–12 (recommended for ages 15+)
• Credit: 0.5 — High School Elective
• Semester: Spring 2027
• Day and time: Tuesdays, 10:15–11:15 a.m. CST  
• Format: Live, weekly online class on Zoom
• Teacher: Julia Jinks
• Department: Electives / Life Skills
• Class size: Small and discussion-friendly
• Tuition: $409
• Required materials: Beyond Personal Finance student workbook only. Use Julia’s discount code for 20% off, and list the teacher’s name (Julia Jinks) on the workbook order form. This discount code will be communicated from the teacher a week prior to class. Books are shipped and arrived within 5 days from the publisher.
• Accreditation: Cognia-accredited high school credit
• Faith integration: Rooted in the Christian conviction that education transmits a culture of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

Why Families Choose True North Academy

• A live teacher, not a recording. Every class meets in real time on Zoom — your student learns from a person, not a playback.
• Learning by doing. A full money simulation makes the lessons stick the way a lecture never could.
• Small class sizes. Your student is known, called on, and encouraged every week.
• Cognia-accredited credit. This half-credit elective counts on the high school transcript.
• Families first. You stay the parent; our world-class teacher teaches.
• Rooted in Christ, headed True North. Faith is openly present, not hidden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a real high school class with credit?

Yes. True North Academy is a fully Cognia-accredited online school. Personal Finance earns 0.5 transcript-ready high school elective credit that can be applied to a graduation pathway.

Is the class live or self-paced?

It is a live class. Students meet once a week on Zoom in real time with their teacher and classmates. It is not a video library and not a self-paced app.

Who teaches the class?

Julia Jinks teaches the live classroom every week. She has guided over 100 students through Beyond Personal Finance and leads the simulation, discussions, and assessments.

What is the money simulation?

Students run a semester-long life simulation: they choose a career, build a budget, pay monthly bills, buy a house and a car, and invest in the stock market — competing on a weekly leaderboard. It’s hands-on practice with real decisions and no real-world risk.

What materials does my student need?

Only the Beyond Personal Finance student workbook. Use Julia’s discount code for 20% off, and be sure to list the teacher’s name (Julia Jinks) on the order form. No other textbook is required.

Do parents need to teach the finance content at home?

No. True North Academy is the school. Mrs. Jinks teaches, assigns, and grades. Parents simply support the learning environment at home.

What grade levels is this class for?

It is designed for students in grades 10–12 (recommended for ages 15+). No prior finance experience is needed.

How is my student graded?

Grades combine simulation work, class participation and discussion, assessments, and a final project — presenting a complete financial plan — with regular feedback on progress.

Ready to Enroll?

Give your teen the money skills you wish you’d had at their age — in a live, Cognia-accredited class with a real teacher who knows them by name. Click “Add to Cart” to reserve your student’s seat. Spots in each small class are limited and fill quickly.