Addison Gload

Jupiter High School’s personal finance class, taught by Kim Kinggard and Paul Hoffman, is offered to all grade levels and is a required credit starting with the class of 2028. 

As this is both Kinggard and Hoffman’s first year teaching the class, they are both thrilled to educate students on the importance of managing money.

“When I read that this was now being taught in school, I was thrilled and went on a mission to become one of the teachers of the subject,” Hoffman said.

As high school students prepare for the future, learning how to manage your money is an important life skill. Taking a personal finance class is a great way to learn how to manage and make smarter decisions with your money.

“Students are graduating high school with no idea how to handle their money,” Kinggard said. “Understanding how to handle personal finance is something students must have before they go out on their own as adults.”  

Personal finance is something you will use in your everyday life, from credit cards, to mortgages, interest rates and so on. 

“If my instruction successfully imparts essential life skills like job searching, budgeting, saving, investing and managing debt on students, they could have a better life,” Hoffman said. “This is because these skills are crucial for navigating the financial foundation for lifelong financial planning and wealth-building.” 

A common example would be a high schooler wanting to buy a new car. In order to buy a new car, the student needs to understand how much the car, interest rate, monthly payments and insurance costs. They would need to budget how much it will cost them each month and see if they can afford it.

“Understanding what good money habits are even before you begin earning and paying bills is the surest way to start off right,” Hoffman said. “The advice I would give is to trust the lessons learned in class, get in good financial habits early and enjoy the security that follows.”