Managing money is a skill everyone needs, but many students graduate high school without understanding basic financial concepts. Sophomores, juniors and seniors at Francis Lewis competed in the National Personal Finance Challenge this school year.  This competition is designed to help students learn how to budget, invest, and plan for their future. 

“The main skills we hope that they’ll gain is literally financial literacy, to understand income, taxes, and how to save,” Virtual Enterprise teacher and competition coordinator Mr. Power said. “They also learn to manage risk, understand their insurance, and handle credit cards.”

In the first round of the competition, student teams compete in an online 30-question challenge. High-scoring student teams are invited to their state finals. The competition challenges students with real-world financial issues. Mr. Power noted that the competition includes “current event questions,” which means students must stay updated on economic trends.

“Within the 30 questions there are current event questions,” Mr. Power said. “The questions are relevant to today and change every year.” 

Working in teams forces students to depend on each other, stay accountable, and develop teamwork and leadership skills that will be useful in school and in their future jobs.  Selecting teammates that are motivated to compete is an important part of the process, according to Mr. Power. 

“The most common mistake is probably choosing the wrong people on your team,” Mr. Power explained. “If you make the mistake of choosing your friends just because they’re your friends, rather than picking people who take the competition seriously, it can hurt your team’s score.”

Students who participate in finance competitions must go beyond memorizing facts. They need to understand real world financial situations and apply their knowledge. This helps them become better problem solvers and prepares them for handling their own finances in the future.

“One of the toughest parts has been applying theoretical concepts to unpredictable real-world scenarios,” student competitor Josephine Lai said. “To handle this I focused on strengthening my understanding of economic principles, so I could adapt quickly rather than just memorizing facts.”

Mr. Power expressed how the competition not only helps students gain knowledge, but helps them shape their career path. Learning these skills is important because young adults will soon face major financial decisions. Many students take out loans for college, open credit cards, and start managing their own expenses without fully understanding how to handle their money.

“One of the most challenging topics is retirement planning, especially between the 401(k), IRAs, and traditional IRAs as well as other pension plans,” student competitor Alwin Li said. “To tackle this I’m reviewing case studies on retirement saving strategies, and practicing calculations related to compound interest and tax implications.” 

Lai believes that the skills she has gained from this competition will help her in college and beyond. 

“This competition has taught me how to think critically, make quick decisions, and defend my reasoning,” Lai said. “These are skills that will be valuable in college courses and any job that involves problem solving and analysis.”

 These competitions do not just test students on just definitions, they push them to apply their knowledge in real world situations, making financial literacy more engaging and useful. Li pointed out that one of the biggest mistakes students make is memorizing definitions rather than focusing on application.

“Another mistake is they study to memorize rather than studying to apply to their lives and learn,” Li said. “Because if they ask a question in a way they would be able to answer right because they don’t understand the content they only understand the definition.” 

The competition is designed to be fast-paced and engaging. Mr. Power explained that the team format adds an element of peer pressure that helps keep students motivated. 

“There is some peer pressure because people love competitions,” Mr. Power said. “If students like competitions, regardless, they would be more engaged. Financial literacy is something that kinda transcends your career path. At 18, students are taking out thousands and thousands of dollars in loans for college, so understanding these concepts now helps them make better financial decisions in the future.”