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 supplies the decision-making and budgeting standards and Book 3 the housing, insurance and long-horizon ones.
Tennessee has required a half credit of Personal Finance for a diploma since the graduating class of 2013, under State Board High School Policy 2.103. The course standards, primary career cluster Management and Entrepreneurship, course code G04H36 (formerly C29H11), were revised in May 2025 and carry 21 standards across six groups, numbered group by group.
How The Money Skill Tree maps to the Tennessee curriculum
| Course standard | Coverage in The Money Skill Tree (US Edition) |
|---|---|
| 1 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PERSONAL DECISION MAKING Standards 1.1–1.4 | |
| 1.1–1.2 Personal finance across life stages; short, mid and long-term goals | B1 Ch 1 (the life battery audit across now, future and impact), B1 Ch 9 (the flight path and its horizons), B2 Ch 14 (the ten-year snapshot), B3 Ch 9 (the FI number as the long-horizon goal). |
| 1.3 Decision-making models weighing risk, opportunity cost and values | B1 Ch 3 (the Filter and the wait-and-weight rule), B1 Ch 1 (money mindsets), B3 Ch 8 (intentional spending, the enough number), B2 Ch 14 (delayed gratification, the impulse cooling system). |
| 1.4 Emerging technologies: cryptocurrency and ethical AI use in finance | Partial. B1 Ch 2 covers the crypto question and digital wallet security and B2 Ch 9–10 cover digital brokerage platforms. Ethical use of AI in finance is not addressed. |
| 2 EDUCATION, CAREERS AND INCOME Standards 2.1–2.5 | |
| 2.1–2.2 Aptitudes and strengths; career research, salaries and lifetime earnings | B1 Ch 4 (the talent inventory), B2 Ch 12 (education requirements against cost and lifetime earnings, the decision tree), B3 Ch 4 (the market data dive, the brag sheet, relocation and total compensation). |
| 2.3–2.4 Financing postsecondary education; FAFSA; the student debt argument | B2 Ch 12 in full: 529 plans, Coverdell ESAs, FAFSA, the four federal loan types, private loans, interest and total cost, repayment plans, refinancing, cost-reduction strategies and the net price calculator. The Guild Chat prompt in that chapter supports the argumentative essay. |
| 2.5 Take-home pay: withholdings, benefits, 1040, W-4, W-2 | B2 Ch 1 (the pay stub line by line, W-4, W-2, I-9, pre-tax vs. post-tax), B2 Ch 2 (federal, FICA, state and local), B2 Ch 5 (Form 1040 page by page, the mock return). |
| 3 PLANNING, HOUSING AND MONEY MANAGEMENT Standards 3.1–3.6 | |
| 3.1 Personal balance sheet, assets, liabilities and net worth | B3 Ch 6 and Ch 10 (assets, liabilities and net worth in the master audit). A dedicated balance-sheet worksheet sits in B3 rather than B2. |
| 3.2 A monthly budget with taxes, savings and an emergency fund; tracking spending | B1 Ch 9 in full (the 50/30/20 flight path, the $100 blueprint, the seven-day logbook, budgeting tools, the emergency budget protocol), B2 Ch 7 (the emergency fund) and B2 Ch 8 (automation). |
| 3.3–3.4 Renting a home; purchasing a home, down payment, mortgage options, affordability | B3 Ch 1 (renters vs. owners, the true cost of owning, the 5% rule, the down payment reality, buying too much house) and B3 Ch 2 (fixed vs. adjustable, 30-year vs. 15-year, FHA and VA programs, points, escrow, PMI, refinancing, amortization). |
| 3.5 Consumer protection laws, agencies and buying-decision resources | Partial. B2 Ch 13 covers fraud reporting and recovery and B1 Ch 11 covers the federal agencies. Named consumer protection statutes and state and local resources are not cited. |
| 3.6 Comparing financial institutions; reconciling accounts, checks and statements | B1 Ch 5 (big banks, credit unions, online-only banks, FDIC coverage, the fine-print trade-offs, the vault comparison quest), B1 Ch 6 (checking vs. savings, HYSA). Reconciling an account and writing a check are not taught. |
| 4 CREDIT AND DEBT Standards 4.1–4.3 | |
| 4.1–4.2 Consumer credit sources and types; credit reports and scores | B1 Ch 10 (the impatience tax, strategic debt, predatory traps, BNPL, the reputation meter) and B2 Ch 6 (the three bureaus, FICO vs. VantageScore, the five factors, building credit from zero, hard vs. soft pulls, freezes, the free report pull). |
| 4.3 Comparing credit types, real borrowing cost, vehicle purchase, financing and leasing | Partial. B1 Ch 10 (the Interest Leak calculator), B2 Ch 6 (the true cost of a carried balance) and B3 Ch 2 (amortization) cover borrowing cost well. Vehicle purchase, financing and leasing are a gap. |
| 5 RISK MANAGEMENT Standards 5.1–5.2 | |
| 5.1 Health, life, property and auto insurance; coverage gaps | B3 Ch 6 in full: health, auto, renters, homeowners, term vs. whole life, disability and umbrella, with premiums, deductibles, limits, actual cash value vs. replacement cost and the exclusions page. |
| 5.2 Identity theft and scams; safeguards and recovery | B2 Ch 13 in full: the IRS, investment and romance scams, identity theft, the phishing troika, employment scams targeting young Americans, two-factor authentication and the 24-hour response. B1 Ch 5 adds account security. |
| 6 SAVING AND INVESTING Standard 6.1 | |
| 6.1 Saving and investment strategies; a diversified plan using time value and compounding | B1 Ch 7 (compound interest, the three engines, the Rule of 72), B1 Ch 6 (savings tiers), B2 Ch 9–11 (stocks, dividends, ETFs and index funds, the risk scale, rebalancing), B2 Ch 3–4 (Roth IRA, 401(k), employer match, HSA), B3 Ch 9 (the 25× rule). |
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 Tennessee: vehicle purchase, financing and leasing for 4.3; reconciling an account and writing a check for 3.6; and named consumer protection agencies and statutes for 3.5. The ethical-AI clause in 1.4, new in the May 2025 revision, is also unaddressed and would suit a short sidebar in B2 Ch 13.
Verification note
The file the state serves is named cte_std_personal_finance_21.pdf but is the May 2025 revision; cite it by revision date. Standards are numbered group by group (1.1–1.4, 2.1–2.5, 3.1–3.6, 4.1–4.3, 5.1–5.2, 6.1), 21 in total, not continuously across the course.
Curriculum source
Curriculum source: Tennessee Personal Finance course standards, course code G04H36, revised May 2025 — tn.gov/education/districts/academic-standards/personal-finance-standards.html · SBE High School Policy 2.103
Prepared August 2026 · moneyskilltree.com · Standards references should be verified against current state documents at time of adoption.
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