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. Book 2 is the closest single-volume match to the half-credit course; Book 1 covers the fundamentals, spending and credit strands and Book 3 the investing, insurance and housing standards.
Pennsylvania's Academic Standards for Personal Finance, 22 Pa. Code Chapter 4 Appendix F, took effect on 1 July 2026. Act 35 of 2023 requires at least a half credit completed in grades 9 to 12, mandatory from 2026–27, with no test-out. The 9-12 band carries 61 lettered standards across six strands; the table groups them by cluster and names the chapters that carry each.
How The Money Skill Tree maps to the Pennsylvania curriculum
| Standard (grades 9-12 band) | Coverage in The Money Skill Tree (US Edition) |
|---|---|
| 17.1 PERSONAL FINANCE FUNDAMENTALS A–L: goals, decision making, mindset, providers, records, regulators | |
| 17.1.9-12.A–E Goals, decision making, mindset and behavioural obstacles | B1 Ch 1 (the life battery audit, money mindsets), B1 Ch 3 (the Filter and the wait-and-weight rule), B1 Ch 9 (the Flight Path), B3 Ch 8 (lifestyle creep, reference anchoring, the joy of missing out), B2 Ch 14 (emotional regulation, delayed gratification). |
| 17.1.9-12.F–I Financial service providers, opening accounts, financial technology, record keeping | B1 Ch 5 (big banks, credit unions, online-only banks, FDIC coverage, opening and securing an account, banking without traditional access), B1 Ch 2 (digital wallets and payment technology), B2 Ch 8 (automation). Record organisation is covered in B3 Ch 3 (“one folder per year”). |
| 17.1.9-12.J–L Wills, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, regulators and consumer protection law | Partial. B1 Ch 11 covers the Fed, the IRS and the FDIC as regulators and B2 Ch 13 covers fraud response. Wills, powers of attorney and beneficiary designation appear only as a referral in B3 Ch 10. |
| 17.2 INCOME A–I: income types, retirement income, education ROI, benefits, taxes and tax forms | |
| 17.2.9-12.A–D Income types, retirement income sources, the education decision and paying for it | B1 Ch 4 (earned income and self-employment), B2 Ch 9 (dividends and capital gains as unearned income), B2 Ch 3–4 (IRA, 401(k), employer plans), B1 Ch 11 (Social Security), B2 Ch 12 in full (529s, FAFSA, loan types, cost reduction). |
| 17.2.9-12.E–G Labour markets, employee benefits, employment vs. contracting vs. ownership | B3 Ch 4 (market data, total compensation, negotiating beyond salary), B2 Ch 1 (“benefits are paycheck too”), B2 Ch 4 (employer match and vesting), B3 Ch 5 (sole proprietorship, LLC, S-corp, contractor vs. employee). |
| 17.2.9-12.H–I Calculating the impact of taxes and completing tax forms | B2 Ch 2 (federal, FICA, state and local, “your real take-home”), B2 Ch 1 (W-4, W-2, I-9), B2 Ch 5 (Form 1040 page by page, state returns, 1040-X), B3 Ch 5 (Schedule C and quarterly estimated tax). |
| 17.3 SPENDING A–M: spending decisions, budgeting, payment methods, housing, vehicles, taxes on purchases, giving | |
| 17.3.9-12.A–F Spending decisions, tracking, budgeting approaches and adjusting a budget | B1 Ch 3 (the Filter, cost-per-use, unit pricing, the checkout ambush), B1 Ch 9 (50/30/20 explicitly, budgeting tools, the emergency budget protocol, the rule of displacement), B2 Ch 7 (replenishing after a shock). |
| 17.3.9-12.G–I Payment methods, bill paying and how technology shapes spending | B1 Ch 2 (physical to digital money, digital wallet security, dynamic pricing, subscription traps), B2 Ch 8 (auto-bill pay, round-ups, transfer timing), B2 Ch 6 (using a credit card with discipline). |
| 17.3.9-12.J–K Housing: renting vs. buying; vehicles: buying vs. leasing | B3 Ch 1 (renters vs. owners, the true cost of owning, the 5% rule, the down payment reality) and B3 Ch 2 (mortgage types, terms, escrow, PMI, refinancing). The vehicle standard is a gap — total cost of ownership is taught generically in B1 Ch 3 but not applied to a car purchase or lease. |
| 17.3.9-12.L–M Sales, excise and property taxes; fundraising and giving decisions | B1 Ch 3 (the checkout ambush and sales tax), B3 Ch 1 (property tax in the true cost of ownership), B3 Ch 7 (vetting nonprofits, cash vs. skills, crowdfunding vs. charity), B1 Ch 11 bonus (the giving habit). |
| 17.4 SAVING AND INVESTING A–K: net worth, savings plans and vehicles, returns, products, advice, diversification, retirement, risk, bias | |
| 17.4.9-12.A–C Net worth, savings plans and comparing savings vehicles | B3 Ch 6 and Ch 10 (assets, liabilities and net worth), B1 Ch 6 (checking vs. savings, HYSA, goal-based tiers), B2 Ch 7 (the 3–6 month emergency fund), B1 Ch 5 (comparing institutions and rates). |
| 17.4.9-12.D–H Rates of return, product comparison, advice channels, benchmarks, diversification | B1 Ch 7 (compound interest, the Rule of 72), B1 Ch 8 (inflation and real returns), B2 Ch 9 (stocks, dividends, DCA, account types), B2 Ch 10 (ETFs, mutual funds, index investing, the major US indexes, expense ratios), B2 Ch 11 (risk capacity, rebalancing). |
| 17.4.9-12.I–K Retirement options, attitudes to risk, countering behavioural bias | B2 Ch 3 (Roth vs. traditional IRA, custodial Roth, contribution limits, the 5-year rule), B2 Ch 4 (401(k), match, vesting, HSA, the order of operations, rollovers), B2 Ch 11 (risk tolerance vs. capacity), B2 Ch 14 and B3 Ch 8 (loss aversion, herding, impulse control). |
| 17.5 RISK AND INSURANCE A–I: risk exposure, risk strategies, coverage types, comparison, claims, public programs, fraud | |
| 17.5.9-12.A–F Risk exposure, risk strategy, coverage recommendations, comparison and claims | B3 Ch 6 in full: health, auto, renters, homeowners, term vs. whole life, disability and umbrella, with premiums, deductibles, coverage limits, actual cash value vs. replacement cost, small claims vs. a clean record and the exclusions page. |
| 17.5.9-12.G Public insurance programs during hardship | Partial. Medicare and Medicaid are explained as payroll deductions in B2 Ch 2 and health coverage is covered in B3 Ch 6 and Ch 9. Unemployment insurance is mentioned once and not developed. |
| 17.5.9-12.H–I Fraud trends, agencies to contact and steps to take | B2 Ch 13 in full: the IRS, investment and romance scams, identity theft, the phishing troika, employment scams, two-factor authentication and the 24-hour response. B1 Ch 5 (account security) and B1 Ch 4 (exploitative opportunities) support it. |
| 17.6 CREDIT A–G: obtaining credit, reports and scores, forms of credit, major loans, total cost, default, rights | |
| 17.6.9-12.A–C Obtaining credit, reports and scores, forms of credit | B2 Ch 6 (the three bureaus, FICO vs. VantageScore, the five factors, building credit from zero, hard vs. soft pulls, freezes, the free annual report), B1 Ch 10 (the reputation meter, revolving vs. installment debt). |
| 17.6.9-12.D–E Education and home loans; calculating the total cost of credit | B2 Ch 12 (the four federal loan types, interest and total cost, repayment plans, refinancing), B3 Ch 2 (mortgage types, points, PMI, amortization), B2 Ch 6 (the true cost of carrying a balance), B1 Ch 10 (the Interest Leak calculator). |
| 17.6.9-12.F–G Consequences of default, debt help, credit rights and law | Partial. B1 Ch 10 covers payoff strategies and predatory lending and B2 Ch 6 covers score damage, but bankruptcy is mentioned only in passing and named credit statutes are not cited. |
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
Three additions would close Pennsylvania cleanly: a vehicle buy-vs-lease worked example for 17.3.9-12.K, a short estate-documents sidebar (wills, powers of attorney, beneficiary designation) for 17.1.9-12.J, and a page on default, debt management help and credit law for 17.6.9-12.F–G. Each is half a page or less.
Verification note
The 9-12 lettered ranges above (17.1 A–L, 17.2 A–I, 17.3 A–M, 17.4 A–K, 17.5 A–I, 17.6 A–G) were confirmed on a second reading of Appendix F after a first automated pass undercounted several strands. Confirm against the published PDF before this document is circulated.
Curriculum source
Curriculum source: Academic Standards for Personal Finance, 22 Pa. Code Ch. 4 Appendix F, effective 1 July 2026 — pa.gov State Board of Education · Act 35 of 2023
Prepared August 2026 · moneyskilltree.com · Standards references should be verified against current state documents at time of adoption.
← All states · Shop the US edition · Ask about a specific outcome