Student Financial Simulator
My Life, My Choices: Student Edition
My Life, My Choices: Student Edition helps middle and high school students practice real-world money decisions before those choices become real bills. Students begin with $4,000 in cash, part-time income, and responsibility for monthly expenses.
The course is built around tradeoffs. Housing, transportation, food, entertainment, and everyday choices all affect the learner’s budget.
Where to start
The course is ready to use below. Give it a moment to load, then have students work through the prompts one screen at a time. They should use the buttons inside the course to go back, save, or move ahead.
It is best not to use the browser’s back or refresh buttons while taking the course. Doing so may close the activity and erase the student’s progress.
Who this course is for
This student edition is designed for learners who are starting to see how money choices connect to everyday life. It can support classroom lessons, independent learning, financial literacy activities, or guided conversations with parents, educators, and youth-serving organizations.
Middle and high school students
Students can test spending choices and see how those choices affect a limited budget.
Financial education settings
Educators can use the simulator as a practical activity for budgeting, planning, and decision-making lessons.
Guided money conversations
Parents, counselors, and mentors can use the course to talk through tradeoffs without turning the lesson into a lecture.
What students practice
The simulator gives students a low-stakes way to practice financial decisions many adults later face with real income and real bills.
Monthly budgeting
Students begin with cash on hand and part-time income, then make choices that affect how long the money lasts.
Fixed and flexible expenses
The course helps learners see the difference between costs that repeat and costs that change based on daily choices.
Lifestyle tradeoffs
Every choice has a cost. Students weigh convenience, comfort, wants, and needs against the money available.
Financial consequences
The simulator shows how small choices can add up across a month, especially when income is limited.
Course navigation and rules
A few simple habits will help students keep their place as they move through the course.
Manage your money
You start with $4,000 and earn roughly $1,500 a month. Each choice affects the budget you have left.
Use the course buttons
Use the Back, Save, and Next buttons inside the course when you need to move around or continue.
Stay in the activity
Avoid the browser’s back and refresh buttons. They may close the activity and erase your work.
Important course notes and privacy
This simulator is educational. It uses a financial scenario to help students think through money choices, but it does not replace personal financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.
- United States scenario: The course reflects common financial situations in the United States. Costs such as healthcare, education, transportation, housing, and subsidies may differ in other countries.
- Student information: Information submitted in the simulator is used for scoring and generating a certificate of completion.
- Aggregate reporting: Money Fit may use aggregate, non-personally identifying data for general reporting and program review.
- No marketing emails: Students will not receive marketing emails from Money Fit because they take this course. Review Money Fit’s Privacy Policy for more details.
Students learn more when the numbers feel real
Budgeting lessons can fall flat when the numbers are too clean. Real life is messier. Income is limited, expenses compete with each other, and a choice that looks small at first can matter by the end of the month.
My Life, My Choices gives students room to test those tradeoffs before the stakes are real. That matters because financial confidence is not built by memorizing terms alone. It grows when learners can connect choices, consequences, and planning before they are making those decisions under pressure.
Frequently asked questions
Who is My Life, My Choices: Student Edition for?
This simulator is designed for middle and high school students who are learning how income, spending choices, monthly bills, and tradeoffs can affect a budget.
How do students move through the simulator?
Students should use the Back, Save, and Next buttons inside the course. Browser back or refresh buttons can close the activity and erase progress.
What financial situation does the simulator use?
The student begins with $4,000 in cash, earns roughly $1,500 a month from part-time work, and is responsible for monthly expenses. The scenario reflects common financial situations in the United States.
How is submitted information used?
Submitted information is used for scoring and generating a certificate of completion. Money Fit may use aggregate, non-personally identifying data for general reporting and does not send marketing emails because a student takes the course.
