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You are here: Home / Homeschooling / Curriculum / Foundations in Personal Finance (Review of Dave Ramsey's Homeschool Curriculum)

Filed Under: Curriculum · Reviews · Personal Finance

Foundations in Personal Finance (Review of Dave Ramsey's Homeschool Curriculum)

Earlier this summer I received an email from Dave Ramsey's public relations coordinator telling me about Dave's personal finance curriculum Foundations in Personal Finance. Since Jaden is starting high school this year, I jumped at the chance to do a review of the curriculum.

I also asked at the same time if I could hold a giveaway so one of my readers could receive the curriculum for free as well.

*** GIVEAWAY CLOSED *** Foundations in Personal Finance Curriculum Giveaway

The winner of this giveaway will receive one copy of Foundations in Personal Finance High School Edition Homeschool Pack. The giveaway is open through Sunday, August 28 at midnight Central Time after which time I'll randomly select a winner. Sorry, but the giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post.

For extra entries, do the following:

  1. Leave a separate comment if you subscribe to Five J's by email and/or RSS.
  2. Leave a separate comment if you follow Five J's on Facebook.

Curriculum Review

Foundations in Personal Finance includes a set of 4 DVDs, a Teacher's Guide CD-ROM, and a student workbook.

The curriculum is divided into 12 lessons and includes over 14 hours of Dave teaching on video. Foundations in Personal Finance is intended to be taught as a one-semester course (1/2 credit for high school).

Each DVD covers one unit in the following subjects:

  1. Saving and Investing
  2. Credit and Debt
  3. Financial Responsibility and Money Management
  4. Insurance/Risk Management and Income/Careers

The Teacher's Guide CD-ROM includes syllabi for both 45-day and 90-day courses. (We're personally following the 45-day syllabus, doing the class 3 times a week for about an hour a day). The CD-ROM also includes tests, answer keys, and additional activities that coordinate with the lessons.

The 224-page student workbook includes fill-in-the-blanks that the student completes while watching the DVD lessons. It also includes lesson reviews, personal finance forms, and Ask Dave case studies.

You can see samples from the DVD, Teacher's Guide, and student workbook.

What the Curriculum is Like

If you've ever attended a Dave Ramsey LIVE! event or his Financial Peace University classes, you'll find that the lessons are taught in a similar manner, where Dave is teaching a crowd of students of all ages. However, throughout the lessons, the DVD cuts away to added content where Dave applies the concepts to teens.

Throughout the curriculum, students not only learn about debt, credit, investing, and other important financial concepts, but they also learn about the Baby Steps, which are the backbone of Dave's teaching. From the very first lesson, students learn the 7 Baby Steps. Case studies in the tests even offer situations which the students need to answer in light of the Baby Steps.

Pros

  • Dave presents the content so that it's fun and very understandable. Students don't get lost amid enigmatic financial terms.
  • Very little (if any) teacher prep is required.
  • Tests and assessments are provided for you. And often the tests don't just rehash exactly the same wording from the lessons; students must understand the concept to answer the questions correctly.
  • Students don't just learn about basic financial concepts. They learn how to take control of their present and future personal finances and avoid debt through understanding the Baby Steps. You might say that Dave also teaches a philosophy of personal finance.
  • Since the DVD part of the curriculum is non-consumable, you can used it with multiple children. (Additional workbooks are only $12.50.)

Cons

  • The curriculum activities were originally written for a classroom of students, so some of them can't be done easily in a homeschool setting.
  • The majority of the DVD content comes from Dave's Financial Peace University DVDs, so there is not a lot of difference if you already own the FPU curriculum. (The workbook, however, is written specifically for this high school curriculum.)
  • Some families may not like the hard-line approach Dave takes about avoiding debt.

Do I recommend the curriculum?

Absolutely! We've only just started Unit 2, but I'm so incredibly impressed with it. Dave makes the most intimidating financial concepts understandable, and my children are learning so much. And better yet, my kids are learning Dave's Baby Steps, which will help keep them on the right road financially now and in the future.

Disclosure: I received this curriculum for free in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are entirely my own.

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Comments

  1. Kathy Ruiz says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:32 am

    What a great opportunity! Thanks so much for sharing the info.

  2. Shera says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:32 am

    I also subscribe to your blog via email! Thanks for the great content!

  3. Chrystina Swain says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:37 am

    I subscribe to Five J's by email! Five J's the best!

  4. Cathy says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:37 am

    Hello! This would be incredibly helpful to us. We love your website. Thank you for all of the awesome stuff that you have on your website. I can see the thought and hard work that you have put into everything here. Thank you again! I subscribe via e-mail.

  5. Chrystina Swain says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:41 am

    I follow Five J's on FB! This is awesome I did not realize Dave Ramsey had a curriculum program!!

  6. Jacqueline says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:45 am

    I subscribe to your email updates and I "Liked" you on Facebook. I would love to win this curriculum. It would be such a blessing to have in our homeschool!

  7. Julie says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:46 am

    I subscribe via email and would love a chance at this curriculum. Thanks…..

  8. Charlene says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:47 am

    We would love to win this!

  9. Charlene says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:47 am

    We follow via email

  10. Charlene says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:48 am

    and we are FB followers 🙂

  11. Cathy S. says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:49 am

    We are a fan of Dave's so we would love to add this to our curriculum!

  12. Cathy S. says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:50 am

    I follow you on your RSS feed. Love your site! Thanks!

  13. Tana says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:51 am

    We love Dave Ramsey! I have 2 high schoolers and a 5th grader… We could really use this practical, spiritual guide to managing money!

  14. Sunshyne says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:54 am

    Would love to have this to help teach our children the importance of budgeting, etc.

  15. Gwen Nichols says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:56 am

    This sounds very exciting, I have a teenager who needs to understand about finances and God's way of taking care of all He has given us.

  16. Becky says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:58 am

    Thank you so much for all the wonderful homeschool information you offer. I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog over the last few months. I have one child in high school and one in 8th grade. This Dave Ramsey course would be so helpful to us. Thanks for the opportunity for a chance to win!

  17. January says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:58 am

    Such an important thing to teach before your kids enter the world. The world teaches instant gratification. If you want you can have it right now, even if you don't have the money. Worry about paying for it later, they fail to mention at a higher price.

  18. Becky says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:58 am

    I subscribe through email.

  19. Ronda says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:03 am

    Love Dave Ramsey and Five J's.

  20. Jon says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:11 am

    I'd love to win!

  21. Amy says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:16 am

    As the parents of four, my husband and I need this curruculum! I have read some of Dave's material and only wish I had prior to some bad financial decisions we made. We certainly d not want our chiuldren to repeat ourmistakes so this curriculum would be a gift from Heaven!

  22. Michelle Tustin says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:19 am

    I have a teenage daughter that is very interested in learning more about finance. Especially since she will be off to college in just two years. Thanks for the opportunity!

  23. Michelle Tustin says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:19 am

    I am an email subscriber 🙂

  24. Allison says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:23 am

    What a great idea! I think finance or money management should be a graduation requirement since so many kids leave the house right after high school. Thanks for the opportunity to win this!

  25. Gail says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:25 am

    Would love to have this! My son better not learn from me lately as I charge up the credit cards buying "must-have" curriculum items! (Maybe I should complete it first! LOL!)

  26. Renee Camacho says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:31 am

    would LOVE a copy – have a Junior who will be working soon, so this would be perfect. Follow on Facebook, too – so will post another comment!

  27. Susan Rackley says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:32 am

    Oh My Goodness! What an excellent Gift!! Please pick me!!!!:)

  28. Renee Camacho says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:33 am

    would LOVE a copy – have a Junior who will be working soon, so this would be perfect. I follow on Facebook AND RSS feed. You are a God-send for homeschool families. Thanks for all your generousity to this community!

  29. Terri Milliken says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:34 am

    I would love to add this to my homeschool curriculum!

  30. Jennifer says

    August 23, 2011 at 7:34 am

    We follow Five J's through e-mail and have found so many helpful things! We would love to add Dave Ramsey to our curriculum!

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