The Greatest Generation Money Lab

The Greatest Generation Money Lab is an interactive eight-week virtual financial literacy and entrepreneurship course created for middle and high school homeschool students. Through practical lessons, real-life scenarios, financial challenges, and hands-on projects, students will learn how to manage money responsibly, understand investing, and transform an idea into a basic business plan.

The course includes 16 live virtual classes and two age-based learning blocks:

• Middle School: Ages 11–14

  
  

  Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Eastern Time

• High School: Ages 14–18

  
  

  Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Eastern Time

Course Dates: September 8–October 29, 2026

Location: Live online through Zoom

Both age groups will study the same core financial topics, but assignments, calculations, research, and business-planning requirements will be adjusted for each student’s age and academic level.

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What Students Will Learn

Students will learn how to:

• Set meaningful financial goals

• Understand income, taxes, and paycheck deductions

• Create and maintain a realistic budget

• Build saving and emergency-fund strategies

• Understand credit scores, interest, loans, and debt

• Compare financial products and identify unnecessary fees

• Recognize scams, fraud, and identity-theft risks

• Understand stocks, bonds, funds, diversification, and compound growth

• Explain how custodial brokerage accounts work

• Evaluate investment risks instead of following online hype

• Develop, price, and market a business idea

• Calculate startup costs, revenue, expenses, profit, and break-even points

• Create and present an age-appropriate business plan

Student Projects

By the end of the course, students will complete:

1. Personal Financial Plan

   
   

   A collection of financial goals, budgeting activities, saving strategies, debt comparisons, and money-management decisions.

2. Custodial Investment Readiness Packet

   
   

   A personal investment goal, risk assessment, sample diversified portfolio, contribution strategy, and explanation of custodial-account responsibilities.

3. Business Plan and Pitch

   
   

   An age-appropriate business plan that includes a customer problem, proposed solution, pricing, startup costs, marketing strategy, and financial projections.

Opening or funding a real custodial brokerage account is optional, parent-directed, and not required for course completion.

Eight-Week Course Breakdown

Week 1: Money Mindset, Goals, and Income

Students will examine how values, habits, emotions, and family experiences influence financial decisions. They will create a financial goal and explore income, careers, gross pay, net pay, taxes, and paycheck deductions.

Week 2: Banking, Saving, and Budgeting

Students will compare checking and savings accounts, financial institutions, account fees, and payment methods. They will learn how to create a monthly budget, manage cash flow, save consistently, and prepare for emergencies.

Week 3: Credit, Debt, and Financial Protection

Students will explore credit reports, credit scores, interest rates, loans, credit cards, and the total cost of borrowing. They will compare debt-payment options and learn how to recognize scams, identity theft, misleading offers, and predatory financial products.

Week 4: Investing Fundamentals

Students will learn about compound growth, inflation, risk and return, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, diversification, fees, and long-term investing. They will complete a risk profile and create a sample asset allocation.

Week 5: Custodial Investing Lab

Students will explore custodial brokerage accounts, including ownership, the parent or custodian’s role, transfer rules, taxes, investment goals, and account alternatives. Each student will create a mock diversified portfolio and contribution plan.

Week 6: Entrepreneurship and Customer Discovery

Students will identify a problem they want to solve and develop a product or service around it. They will define their ideal customer, create a value proposition, research competitors, and gather customer feedback.

Week 7: Business Money and Operations

Students will calculate startup costs, fixed and variable expenses, pricing, revenue, profit, and break-even points. They will also develop basic marketing, sales, operations, and recordkeeping strategies.

Week 8: Capstone Showcase

Students will complete their financial portfolios and business plans. They will present their business pitches, answer questions, receive feedback, and reflect on their next financial and entrepreneurial steps.

High School Credit Option

The high school track is designed to support homeschool elective credit through documented instruction, independent assignments, completed projects, assessments, and a final grade.

• Standard Track: Approximately 30 documented hours; recommended for 0.25 elective credit

• Extended Track: Approximately 60 documented hours; recommended for 0.50 elective credit

Final credit approval remains the responsibility of the student’s parent, umbrella school, homeschool program, or other school of record based on applicable state requirements.

Course Materials

Students should bring a notepad, pen, calculator, and device with internet access to each class. A virtual workbook and additional course materials will be emailed before the first class.

Build money skills. Create bold ideas. Prepare for the future.Ticketed 8-week Money Lab on Zoom for homeschooling families.