Where will you be at 25? Today, we start to find out — on purpose.
Today is setup day — accounts go live and you'll finish your first module.
Open Career Interest Quick Sort in Schoology.
You'll see 30 short statements — "I'd rather fix something than write about it," or "I love convincing people."
Drag each one to YES, MAYBE, or NO. When you finish, you'll see your Top 3 Interest Zones — clusters of careers that tend to fit how your brain works.
Pick one career from your top zone. Use O*NET and CAREERwise Minnesota to fill in:
Submit to the Career Snapshot assignment in Schoology — keep it, we'll use it all unit.
Answer in Schoology — 1–2 sentences each.
Tomorrow you'll go deep on one career — the daily reality, salary range across Minnesota, the education path, and whether the future job market wants more of them or fewer.
"Make a lot of money" isn't a plan. Today we find out what your dream career actually looks like.
Open CAREERwise Minnesota. Find your chosen career. Fill in your Career Deep Dive document in Schoology.
On CAREERwise MN, find the Outlook tab for your career.
You'll see a projection — "growing faster than average," "declining," etc.
If your career is declining, that doesn't mean drop it. It means do your homework on where it's still hiring, and what skills make you the obvious pick.
Add the outlook to your Career Deep Dive doc and submit.
Trade school. Community college. Four-year university. Grad school. Tomorrow we compare the real costs — and the salaries each one unlocks. Spoiler: the most expensive path is not always the smartest.
Four-year college isn't the only smart move. Sometimes it's not even the best one.
These are realistic Minnesota numbers. The path that's right for you depends on your career, not on what other people expect.
Colleges advertise a sticker price — what they'd charge if nobody got help.
The net price is what people actually pay after grants and scholarships. For most families, it's way lower.
Example: U of M Twin Cities sticker price is about $32,000/year. But the average family with income under $75K pays closer to $12,000/year — and Minnesota's North Star Promise makes it free for families under ~$80K.
Tomorrow we'll use the Net Price Calculator on every college's website to find your real number.
Open the ROI Comparison worksheet in Schoology. Compare your career path to three others.
Net earnings = salary minus education cost. Sometimes the smaller paycheck wins. Submit your ROI sheet before you leave.
Tomorrow you'll choose one school — trade, community college, MN public, or beyond — and calculate the real total cost. We'll use Net Price Calculators and the MN North Star Promise to land on an honest number.
Pick a school. Find the real number. Walk out today knowing exactly what your education will cost.
If your family makes under ~$80,000/year, Minnesota will cover your full tuition at any MN public college or university — including:
U of M (all 5 campuses), Minnesota State Mankato, St. Cloud State, Winona State, Bemidji State, and every community and technical college in the state.
It started in 2024. You apply for it through FAFSA. You still pay for housing, books, and food — but tuition itself is zero.
This changes the math for almost everyone in this room. Talk to your family. Then come back and pick a school knowing what's actually available.
Pick ONE school that prepares you for your career. Use BigFuture, MinnState, or a specific trade school site.
Every college has a Net Price Calculator by federal law. Find it on your school's website (Google: "[school name] net price calculator").
You'll enter family income (use your best guess or $75,000 if you're not sure), and it will spit out a real number.
If you picked a Minnesota public college and your family makes under $80K — your tuition number should drop to $0.
For trade school: skip the calculator and use the school's published program cost.
Open the School Choice worksheet in Schoology. Fill in your numbers and let it total.
Submit your School Choice worksheet — we'll use this number on Day 7 to figure out your student loans.
Tomorrow we take your education debt and watch it grow through interest. What you borrow vs. what you pay over 10, 15, and 20 years. Most people pay double — sometimes triple — what they took out. We'll do the math.
You borrow $30,000. You pay back $42,000. Sometimes $60,000. Here's why — and what to do about it.
Principal is what you borrowed.
Interest is what the lender charges you for the privilege of borrowing.
Federal undergrad student loans in 2025–26 have a fixed rate of 6.5% per year. That percentage adds up fast on a big loan.
Every monthly payment is part principal (paying down what you owe) and part interest (paying the lender). Early on, most of your payment is interest. Late in the loan, most of it is principal.
The longer you take to pay, the more interest you end up paying overall.
$30,000 borrowed at 6.5%. Watch what happens when you stretch out the payments.
Open the Student Loan Reality worksheet in Schoology. Plug in your total education cost from Day 4:
This becomes your monthly student loan payment in Day 7's budget. Submit the worksheet.
The most important lesson in the unit. Saving $50/month starting at 22 vs. starting at 32. The 10-year delay costs you a million dollars. We'll prove it on the screen.
The math of becoming a millionaire on a normal salary. We're not kidding.
You don't just earn interest on what you put in. You earn interest on the interest.
Year 1: you have $600. You earn 7% → $42.
Year 2: you have $642 + $600 new = $1,242. You earn 7% on all of it.
Every year, the snowball gets bigger. By year 30, the growth dwarfs what you actually put in.
This isn't magic. It's just math — but it only works if you start early and leave it alone.
Same $50/month. Same 7% growth. Same person. Different start age.
Open the Future You Calculator in Schoology. Pick your monthly amount. See what 22-to-65 looks like.
This number goes in your Career & Finance Portfolio. Refer to it every time you're tempted to skip saving "just this once."
Tomorrow you'll find out why your $55,000 salary is really $42,000 in your bank account. Federal tax, Minnesota state tax, FICA, health insurance. Then we open the Year 1 budget.
Why your $55,000 paycheck is really $42,000. The Year 1 budget starts today.
On a $55,000 salary in Minnesota, here's roughly what gets taken out before you ever see it:
Open the Take-Home Calculator in Schoology. Plug in your salary. Find your number.
You do not pay one flat tax rate on your whole salary. The U.S. uses a progressive system — different chunks of your income get taxed at different rates.
Example: single filer earning $55,000 in 2026:
• The first $12,400 is taxed at 10% → $1,240
• The next chunk from $12,400 to $50,400 is taxed at 12% → $4,560
• Only the last $4,600 (from $50,400 to $55,000) is taxed at 22% → $1,012
Total federal tax: about $6,812 — that's an effective rate of ~12.4%, not 22%. Minnesota state tax stacks on top with its own brackets (5.35% up to $31,690, 6.80% above that).
Open the Year 1 Budget Sheet in Schoology. Fill in these two rows today:
Over the next 4 days we'll add the rest of your life — housing, transportation, groceries, phone, utilities, and savings.
Tomorrow you pick a real apartment or house in Minnesota. Use real listings on Zillow or apartments.com. The 28% rule, mortgage calculators, down payments — all the real stuff.
Rent or buy? City or suburbs? Today you pick a real place and put it in your budget.
Use Zillow (buying) or apartments.com (renting). You can pick anywhere in the U.S. — explore. Want to live in Denver? Nashville? Seattle? Go for it.
Open your Year 1 budget sheet. Add these rows:
Check your sheet — does your housing fit the 28% rule? If not, find something cheaper or accept the trade-off.
Tomorrow you buy a vehicle. Real listings, real loan terms, real insurance. New vs. used — and which one actually makes financial sense for someone just starting out.
Buying a vehicle. Real listings. Real loans. Real insurance. The math nobody shows you.
Use Cars.com, CarGurus, or Carvana. Find a vehicle that fits a young professional's budget.
Open your Year 1 budget. Add both rows:
Check the running total. Housing + transportation = how much of your take-home? It should be under 50%.
Groceries. Health insurance. Phone plan. Internet. The stuff nobody warns you about that adds up to $700+/month before you've had any fun. Tomorrow we add them all.
Groceries. Health. Phone. Internet. The stuff that quietly adds up to $700+/month.
The USDA's "moderate cost" food budget for one adult in 2025 is about $400/month.
That's home-cooked meals, basic groceries, occasional treats. Not Starbucks every morning. Not DoorDash.
Add restaurant meals or food delivery and the number jumps fast. A $14 DoorDash order three times a week = an extra $170/month.
Add a $400 minimum to your budget for groceries. Add more if you want a realistic "eating out" line too.
Most employer health plans cost the employee around $77–$200/month (after the company pays the rest).
This covers doctor visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, ER. You still pay copays and a deductible when you actually use it — but the alternative (no insurance) can mean $30,000+ bills for one accident.
Add $77/month for health insurance to your budget.
Time to shop. Research your own carrier and plan — don't just pick the first one that pops up.
Then pick a phone to go with it. Most people finance the phone over 24 or 36 months — add that monthly cost on top of the plan itself.
Your job:
1. Find a carrier (Verizon is one example — there are many others). Compare at least two.
2. Pick a plan that fits your usage.
3. Pick a phone. Note the monthly lease/finance cost.
4. Add both to your budget: plan + phone payment.
If your apartment or home doesn't include internet, you need a plan.
Research providers in the city where you bought/rented your home. Availability varies by address — cable, fiber, and wireless options differ street to street. Xfinity is one example carrier; find at least two others in your area.
Pick a plan with speed that fits how you live (streaming? gaming? working from home?).
Add your monthly cost to the budget.
Utilities, extras, and the part most adults skip: required savings. We'll set up an emergency fund and a Roth IRA contribution alongside the fun stuff. The Future You math from Day 6 finally comes home.
Streaming. Gym. Pets. Savings. Today you turn your budget into the life you actually want.
If you're renting an apartment, utilities are usually lower. If you bought a house, you pay for everything.
Two non-negotiable lines in any real budget:
1. Roth IRA contribution — your retirement. Even $50/month gets you to that big number from Day 6. Most adults aim for $200–500/month if they can.
2. Emergency fund — savings for when life punches you. Goal: 3 months of expenses. Build it slow with $100–200/month until you hit it.
These come before the fun stuff. If you can't afford both, start tiny — but start.
Fill in the Extras section of your budget — 12 slots, including 3 streaming service lines and 3 "Custom" slots you label yourself. But here's the rule: verify every price yourself before adding it.
Verify means: go to the actual website. Find the actual current price. Don't guess. Don't trust your assumption from three years ago.
Example: "I'll add Planet Fitness for $15." → Go to planetfitness.com. Find the plan you'd actually pick. Add that price. It might be $15. It might be $25. Don't fake it.
Categories the budget sheet has ready for you:
• 3 streaming lines — list Netflix, Spotify, Disney+ separately
• Gym / fitness · Hobbies / sports · Pets
• Eating out / coffee · Clothing · Haircuts & personal care
• 3 Custom slots — write in whatever isn't covered (dating, gaming, tattoos, hunting license, etc.)
One-time purchases over about $500 — jet ski, engagement ring, big vacation, gaming rig, boat, motorcycle — don't fit as a monthly extra. Use the Big Purchases section of your budget instead.
How to enter one:
1. Enter the Total cost (e.g., $10,000 jet ski)
2. Enter Months to pay it off (e.g., 60 = 5 years)
3. The Monthly auto-calculates (Total ÷ Months = $167/mo)
4. That $167 automatically adds to your monthly expenses.
Two ways to buy something big:
• Finance it — spread the cost over months (use this section). Downside: real loans add interest, so the actual monthly is a bit higher than the sheet shows. Ballpark reality: add 10–15%.
• Save cash — wait until you have the money, then deduct from your savings account. No monthly payment, but you can't have it today.
Open your full budget. The total at the bottom must be positive (green).
If you're in the red: cut something. Less expensive car. Cheaper apartment. Drop a streaming service. Lower the Roth IRA temporarily.
If you're solidly in the green: save more. Bump up your Roth IRA or emergency fund.
Take a screenshot of your green budget when you're done. Submit it to Schoology.
Tomorrow we close Year 1 with a reflection, then we spin the wheel for your first real-world surprise. Promotion? Car broke down? Medical bill? Welcome to adulthood.
One year of adulting. Now life throws you a curveball. Welcome to reality.
Open Year 1 Reflection in Schoology. Answer honestly.
The wheel will land somewhere. Apply it to your Year 1 budget.
Whatever you land on, apply it to your sheet. If you went negative — use your emergency fund. If you didn't have one... now you know why we built one.
Open Career & Finance Portfolio in Schoology — it's a slide deck template. Today you fill in the first slides:
Tomorrow you can switch careers, switch jobs, get a raise, or stay the course. Then we copy your budget to Year 2 and adjust. Real life keeps moving.
A standard 3% cost-of-living raise, another wheel spin, and time to catch up your portfolio for the final capstone.
Year 2 arrives. In real life, you'd have three options: stay in your job, ask for a raise, or change careers.
For this simulation, we're staying. Same career, same employer — but you get a standard 3% cost-of-living raise. That's a completely normal, mature Year-2 outcome.
Why stay? Career-change math is complicated — new salary, potentially new education costs, new take-home. We don't have time to redo all of it. In real life, most 22-year-olds don't change careers in year 2 anyway.
Bump your salary by 3%, recalculate your take-home, and move on.
Same wheel. Different year. Whatever you land on, apply it.
With your 3% raise applied and your wheel surprise dealt with, your Year 2 sheet should be green. Cut or downgrade if needed.
Screenshot when green. Add Year 2 slide to your portfolio.
Use the rest of the period to work on your Career & Finance Portfolio. By Day 15 it should have:
You'll need this ready to show on Day 15 — don't leave it all for the last day.
Tomorrow you partner up with a classmate. Combine incomes. Combine expenses. Buy a property together. Real money decisions with another human in the mix.
Partner up. Combine two incomes, two sets of bills, and one big decision — a place of your own.
Partner up with ONE classmate. Open a fresh Year 3 budget sheet and combine:
With two incomes, you can afford more house. Find a place together on Zillow that fits your combined budget.
Use a 10% down payment and 6.5% interest over 30 years. Drop your two old housing payments and replace them with this one shared mortgage.
Remember the 28% rule still applies — but now it's 28% of your combined take-home, which buys a lot more home.
Create a "New Home!" poster in Canva (or your portfolio deck). Include:
Add the poster to your portfolio as your Year 3 slide.
The biggest curveball of all. Then we finish the portfolio and share what we built — four years of a life, planned on purpose. The unit comes full circle.
The biggest curveball of all — then we share the life you built, on purpose.
However your family grows — biological, adopted, fostered — each child adds real monthly costs. Spin the wheel, then multiply.
Apply the total to your combined Year 3/4 budget. Did the emergency fund and savings you built hold? This is why we planned ahead.
Your portfolio should now tell the full four-year story. Final slides:
Submit your completed portfolio to Schoology.
Leave your portfolio open on your iPad. Walk around. See the lives your classmates built.
Notice: some chose trade school and zero debt. Some chose med school and a huge salary later. Some bought a mansion with a partner. Some live alone and travel.
There's no single right answer. The point was never to pick the "best" life — it was to learn how to plan one on purpose.
You've finished the unit, but MoneyTime has 30 modules. Keep working through them during warm-ups all year — investing, stocks, property, taxes, and more. Future You is counting on it.