The National Personal Finance Challenge
The nation’s premier personal finance competition for teens
The National Personal Finance Challenge (NPFC) is a nationwide competition that offers high school students the opportunity to build and demonstrate their knowledge in the concepts of earning income, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, and managing risk.
In the first round, competitors complete a 30-question, online rapid-fire exam. In regional and national finals, students use what they have learned from the six areas of knowledge to create a financial plan for a fictitious family scenario.
Over 15,000 students participate in the NPFC, and our goal is 50,000 annual participants by 2025. We continue our efforts to make the program accessible to a diverse set of participants; in 2022 over 40% of competitors were students of color.
The National Personal Finance Challenge starts with a teacher or coach forming a team at their school or in their community. Teams first compete at the state level, the top team from each state advances to the National Finals.
The 2024 National Personal Finance Challenge finals will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio on May 19-20, 2024.
All finalist team members receive cash prizes:
1st place $2,000 | 2nd place $1,000 | 3rd place $500 | 4th place $250
Investing in Student Teams and Their Futures
The Council for Economic Education offers free resources for teachers and NPFC team coaches to ensure that the kids in their communities develop a solid understanding of the six core knowledge areas of personal finance. The online NPFC Toolkit includes engaging lessons, activities, instructive videos, quizzes and family scenario case studies to ensure that students are equipped not only to compete in the NPFC—but also to take control of their financial futures.
Students will learn about:
Earning Income
How it’s generated and how factors such as taxes, interest rates, and inflation impact income.
Spending
Buying goods and services by examining personal budgets, expenses, and income.
Saving
Analyzing compound interest and financial institutions and services.
Managing Credit
Credit reports, credit scores, and decision-making through consumer credit.
Investing
Various investment instruments, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Students will also understand the concepts of risk and return and time horizon.
Managing Risk
Different types of insurance and vigilance against common scams and identity theft.
Learn More
The only competition for high school students to test their knowledge of essential concepts of personal finance and compete for cash prizes
Financial Literacy Leads to Financial Opportunity
Many kids in high school are already earning and spending, and some may be thinking about saving and growing their personal wealth. Working with students in their teen years is vital for building financial competency and fluency while they begin to apply what they learn in the real world.
More than developing generations of educated consumers, CEE is dedicated to preparing teens to make educated decisions that impact their lives.
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