The classroom economy program is an effective and enjoyable way to teach your students fundamental financial literacy components without altering your curriculum.

Implementing the program is an easy three-step process:

1. Before the school year starts, you spend a few hours gathering materials and planning how to customize the program for your school and your own classroom.
2. During the first month of school, you spend some classroom time introducing the program and training the students to complete their tasks.
3. Throughout the year, you monitor the students' progress and provide support and guidance when necessary.

As they perform their tasks, the students will be helping you manage the classroom and, in the process, learning valuable skills—such as responsibility, the value of saving, and delayed gratification—that they will carry with them throughout life.

The beauty of the program is that you don't need to teach these lessons; rather, your students will experience them and learn for themselves.

Core objectives for students in Grades 9–10

Through My Classroom Economy, students are able to:

• Take part in a simulation of real-world economic activity.
• Learn the value of earning a paycheck, as they bank the salaries from their jobs.
• Learn how to budget their spending, balance a checking account, and make scheduled payments.
• Understand the importance of sound recordkeeping.
• Discover the importance of saving money for future goals.
• Describe the purpose of paying taxes.
• Explain the benefits of holding insurance.
• Find out that every decision has an opportunity cost.

At these grade levels, students begin to learn more advanced financial concepts. Students now have the options of purchasing certificates of deposit (CDs) and insurance policies. With increased sophistication, more emphasis is put on financial planning and budgeting.