Financial Literacy

Maine-Based Resources
  • Finance Authority of Maine. Provides students and teachers with a variety of web-based resources on topics such as budgeting, credit, money management and savings along with Maine-based financial education resources. Resources include Financial Education Services tools to find local financial education resources, including course information, programs, and speakers. FAME provides access to iGrad for Maine high school students. iGrad is an online program which includes interactive money management lessons, a scholarship search tool, and resources to assist in college planning. Claim Your Future is a web and classroom game for middle school students to explore future careers and money management.
  • Maine Credit Union League. The MCUL provides Financial Fitness Fairs, geared toward high school juniors and seniors and offers links to other free resources and programs.
  • Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. The Jump$tart Maine site has a multitude of helpful links, including an online library of financial education resources, best practices, and a downloadable version of the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education.
  • Junior Achievement of Maine. Offers innovative programs to educate students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy. Junior Achievement volunteers, with a variety of backgrounds, are available to visit classrooms.
  • Maine Office of Securities. Provides several brochures, investor tools, and education resources available for download.
  • Maine Office of the State Treasurer. Check out the TeachME Financial Literacy page of the Maine Treasurer’s site for a list of some resources and links about personal money management, saving and investing, and budget and debt management.
  • LifeSmarts.  LifeSmarts is a program and educational tool of the National Consumer League that provides an opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to participate in a competition focusing on consumer rights and responsibilities, the environment, health and safety, personal finance and technology.  See the Maine page for information about competition dates and to contact the State Coordinator.
Web-Based Resources
  • American Bankers Association. Links to information about the “Teach Children to Save” program, “Lights, Camera, Save!” video contest, and “Get Smart About Credit” campaign.
  • Biz Kid$.  PBS’s award-winning TV program is available online along with activity guides, lesson plans, games and a teacher discussion forum.
  • CARE Program:  Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) provides information, tools, and resources for high school students and educators. 
  • Consumer Action Handbook. Provides advice and consumer tips on such topics as cars, shopping from home, avoiding consumer and investment fraud, home improvement and financing, and credit cards. Also included is contact information for thousands of national consumer organizations, better business bureaus, corporations, trade associations, state and local consumer protection offices, state agencies, military consumer offices and federal agencies.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Resources on the CFPB’s site include a Paying for College section with student guides and financial aid comparison tools. Advancing K-12 Financial Education, a resource guide, for policymakers and all members of the financial education community provides tools and information to enhance K-12 financial education efforts in communities.
  • Consumer Jungle. Variety of topical resources and games are available.
  • Council for Economic Education. Links to hundreds of resources related to financial literacy. The council is a nationwide network that aims to help students develop the real-life skills needed for success as responsible consumers, savers, investors, citizens and workers. The site includes access to a free Online Assessment Center.
  • EconEdLink. Offers hundreds of economic and personal finance lessons and resources and interactive tools for all grade levels. The site also includes professional development resources for educators.
  • EVERFI:  EVERFI partners with local and national organizations to provide fun and engaging digital learning resources to K-12 schools at no cost with built in pre and post assessments: Financial Literacy (High School); FutureSmart (Middle School); and Vault – Understanding Money (Elementary School). 
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC offers a Teacher Online Resource Center and free curriculum materials for young adults and elementary school students on the Money Smart for Youth pages.
  • Federal Reserve. Links to lesson plans, activities, videos and materials. The resources are searchable by grade level or topics.
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Programs, information, tools, and resources on a variety of topics are available on the site.
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Keys to Financial Success is a complete course plan for high school students.  Materials and program information are free. There is a small registration fee for professional development. 
  • Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Provides websites, books and newsletters about dozens of topics, including economics, economic trends, the Federal Reserve system, U.S. monetary policy, great economists and personal finance.
  • Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:  The site hosts a variety of resources and tools for all levels.  The “Piggy Bank Primer” provides younger students with short lessons on basic economic concepts.  FRASER, the Federal Reserve Archive, is a digital library covering the economic history of the United States, searchable by topics, titles, and timeline.  Econ Lowdown Online Learning offers online courses for students at all levels.
  • Finance in the Classroom.  Note the resources available on this site are aligned to Utah’s specific standards and mandated course.  The PK-12 lessons, activities, and other resources may be adapted to fit Maine’s standards.
  • FinLitTv. This financial literacy site uses social media to work through financial questions. Students share their experiences in video messages, called FLiCs (a financial literacy clip). The site is geared toward college students, yet the well-vetted FLiCs are appropriate for high school students, too.
  • FoolProof Real Consumer Education. The site provides free interactive modules, designed to be used in succession for a complete curriculum, or used individually. Included are 10 new supplemental modules that explore topics such as Renting a Pad, Charitable Giving and Gambling.
  • Generation Money. A multimedia website featuring online financial education games, surveys and many other resources.
  • Hands on Banking. Online instructional resources and mini-courses for kids, teens and young adults.
  • Jump$tart Coalition Clearinghouse. The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy offers a searchable database of resources, including an “Ask Anne” feature which provides direct communication with the manager of the Clearinghouse.
  • Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement provides free programs and resources, including apps such as JA Build Your Future and a web portal, Money Confident Kids, with links to resources for students and teachers.
  • Khan Academy. Videos available on a wide variety of financial education topics.
  • Money as You Grow. Provides “20 things kids need to know to live financially smart lives” through age-appropriate financial lessons and corresponding activities. Milestone posters are also available for download. Money as You Learn is a companion site to Money as You Grow and provides additional lessons and  tools for educators.
  • Money Matters. The Boys & Girls Club of America shares information and several interactive games and tools for students.
  • Money Smart. This financial education program helps youth (ages 12-20) and adults (in seven languages) learn the basics of handling their money and finances. Topics include setting financial goals, saving money, choosing a checking account, making a credit card work for you, paying for college and cars, making decisions about apartments and mortgages and more. A computer-based version and podcasts are available.
  • Money Talks. Teen Guides available for “Money Talks”  on various financial topics; short videos also available on a variety of topics.
  •  My Classroom Economy. This program, created by Vanguard, is a classroom simulation where students earn “dollars” through jobs to pay rent for desks, fines, and to make classroom purchases.  The program is customizable by grade levels.
  • MyMoney.gov. The U.S. government provides this website dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education. Whether you're buying a home, balancing your checkbook or investing in your 401k, MyMoney.gov may help you do it better. Throughout the site, you'll see important information from 20 federal agencies. Find out if you have "financial smarts" by taking the MyMoney interactive quiz.
  • National Endowment for Financial Education. The site provides a variety of online and traditional resources, including a free High School Financial Planning Program supported by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. An online evaluation toolkit is also available.
  • Next Gen Personal Finance. Next Gen Personal Finance provides free curriculum resources, lesson plans, activities, and project for educators. The site also includes professional development opportunities, updated blogs, and a community to share ideas with other educators.
  • Personal Financial Literacy Teacher and Student Materials. Note the resources available on this site are aligned to Oklahoma’s specific standards.  The 7-12 lessons and materials may be adapted to fit Maine’s standards.
  • Practical Money Skills for Life. Includes lesson plans, games and calculators for such topics as “How Much Will My Loan Cost?” and “Researching and Buying a Car.”
  • Sesame Street for Me, for You, for Later. Videos, printable activity books, and educator guides are available.
  • SmartAsset. Online interactive tools and calculators, including a Maine Income Tax Calculator.
  • The Stock Market Game. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association provides The Stock Market Game program, an online simulation for grades 4-12.
  • TreasuryDirect. Created by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Public Debt, this site offers videos, games and money math lessons intended to be used as curriculum supplements.
  • Understanding Taxes. The Internal Revenue Service provides lessons and resources for an interactive tax education program that can be integrated into existing curricula.
  • We the Economy. A series of free, short videos about different aspects of the economy with discussion guides and lessons plans available.