Part of the US State Curriculum Alignment series.
A three-book US financial-literacy workbook series by Michael McCracken: Book 1 — The Money Starter Pack (foundations; suggested Grades 6–9), Book 2 — The Grind (paychecks, taxes, credit, investing; Grades 9–12), Book 3 — Endgame (advanced planning; senior grades and adult). Print workbooks, 8.5×11, greyscale, with write-in activities throughout. Books 1 and 2 together cover SSEPF1 through SSEPF10 almost completely; the SSEF economics block needs a supplement alongside them.
Georgia requires at least a half credit in financial literacy, taken in grade 11 or 12, as a condition of graduation from the 2024–25 school year under SB 220 (2022). The delivery vehicle is Personal Finance and Economics, course 45.061, whose standards are dated December 2021: four SSEF economics standards followed by the ten SSEPF personal finance standards.
How The Money Skill Tree maps to the Georgia curriculum
| Georgia Standard of Excellence | Coverage in The Money Skill Tree (US Edition) |
|---|---|
| SSEF FUNDAMENTALS OF ECONOMIC DECISION-MAKING Scarcity, marginal analysis, economic systems, standard of living | |
| SSEF1 How scarcity affects choices | Partial. B1 Ch 3 teaches scarcity and opportunity cost through the needs-and-wants Filter and applies opportunity cost throughout Books 1 and 2. Allocation strategies and the productive-resource categories are not covered. |
| SSEF2–SSEF4 Marginal analysis, economic systems, standard of living | Not covered. B2 Ch 12 addresses human capital investment and lifetime earnings, which touches SSEF4a, but rational-choice modelling, comparative systems and the production possibilities curve are not taught. |
| SSEPF PERSONAL FINANCE Ten standards from major life decisions through identity theft | |
| SSEPF1 Major life decisions using economic decision-making | B2 Ch 12 (post-high-school choices, scholarships, work-study, loans, grants, savings, FAFSA documents, apprenticeship and military paths), B3 Ch 1 (renting vs. buying and mortgages), B3 Ch 4 (employment decisions). Generational wealth is addressed in B3 Ch 9 and Ch 10. |
| SSEPF2 Income as a scarce resource allocated through budgeting | B2 Ch 1 (hourly, salary, tips, contractor pay, the pay stub, gross and net, deductions), B2 Ch 5 (completing a Form 1040), B1 Ch 9 (fixed and variable expenses, short- and long-term saving), B3 Ch 6 and Ch 10 (net worth). Reconciling a checking account and overdraft fees: B1 Ch 5 covers overdrafts; reconciliation is not taught. |
| SSEPF3 How the financial system channels funds from savers to investors | B1 Ch 1 (the three functions of money), B1 Ch 5 (banks and credit unions), B1 Ch 10 (payday and title lenders as predatory traps), B1 Ch 2 and B2 Ch 6 (cash, debit, credit, prepaid and mobile payment), B2 Ch 9–11 (risk, return and diversification), B1 Ch 2 (the crypto question). |
| SSEPF4 How interest rates affect consumer decisions | B1 Ch 7 (simple vs. compound interest, the Rule of 72), B1 Ch 10 (APR and the Interest Leak), B2 Ch 6 (APR and the cost of a carried balance), B3 Ch 2 (the amortization schedule, fixed vs. adjustable), B1 Ch 8 (nominal vs. real returns under inflation). |
| SSEPF5 How changes in taxation affect spending and saving | B2 Ch 2 (progressive federal brackets, FICA, state and local), B1 Ch 3 (sales tax at the till), B3 Ch 3 (capital gains, deductions and credits), B3 Ch 1 (property tax). Estate tax is not covered. |
| SSEPF6 Costs and benefits of using credit | B2 Ch 6 in full: report vs. score and how to access each, the five score components, building credit from zero, revolving vs. installment. B1 Ch 10 adds debt types and payoff strategies. Personal bankruptcy is mentioned only in passing. |
| SSEPF7 Insurance and risk-management strategies | B3 Ch 6 in full: why people insure, auto, health, term and whole life, disability, renters, homeowners and umbrella, with premiums, deductibles, coverage limits and why rates vary. |
| SSEPF8 How the earnings of workers are determined | B3 Ch 4 (market data, total compensation, BATNA, the brag sheet, negotiating, the gender gap), B1 Ch 4 (reputation as an asset, setting a rate), B2 Ch 12 (the payoff of education and training). The social media footprint element is addressed in B3 Ch 8 in a comparison context rather than a career one. |
| SSEPF9 How consumers are protected by rules and regulations | Partial. B1 Ch 11 (the Fed, the IRS, the FDIC), B1 Ch 5 (FDIC coverage), B2 Ch 13 (reporting fraud and acting within 24 hours). Named legislation — Truth in Lending, the FDCPA, the FCRA, Dodd-Frank — is not cited, and complaint channels are not compared. |
| SSEPF10 Sources of and protection against identity theft | B2 Ch 13 in full: skimming, phishing, smishing and vishing, data breaches, two-factor authentication, credit freezes, replacement cards and reporting steps. Investment scams including Ponzi and advance-fee schemes are covered in the same chapter; B1 Ch 5 adds account security. |
B1 = Book 1 (The Money Starter Pack) · B2 = Book 2 (The Grind) · B3 = Book 3 (Endgame) · “Ch” = chapter.
Instructional features
Every chapter closes with a hands-on Skill Quest and an Elite Quest (write-in worksheets), a Guild Chat discussion prompt, and a Summary Checklist, so each standard below has an assessable classroom activity attached to it, not only a reading.
Gaps to note
SSEPF9c is the clearest gap: the books teach how to avoid and report fraud but never name Truth in Lending, the FCRA, the FDCPA or Dodd-Frank, and do not compare complaint channels. Reconciling a checking account (SSEPF2e) and personal bankruptcy (SSEPF6e) are the other two. The SSEF economics block is not covered.
Curriculum source
Curriculum source: Personal Finance and Economics, Georgia Standards of Excellence, course 45.061, dated December 2021 — Georgia Department of Education · SB 220 (2022)
Prepared August 2026 · moneyskilltree.com · Standards references should be verified against current state documents at time of adoption.
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