New Jersey does not guarantee it. There is no requirement that every student take a standalone personal finance course before graduating. Whether New Jersey students ever learn budgeting, credit, or investing comes down to the district they live in and the electives they happen to pick.
Neighboring states, and whether each one guarantees the course.
Status data from Next Gen Personal Finance's Live U.S. Dashboard, July 2026. "Guaranteed" means every student must take at least a one-semester standalone personal finance course to graduate. See the full interactive map of all 50 states.
states guarantee a standalone personal finance course before graduation.
states plus D.C. still don't, so it comes down to the district a student lives in.
of U.S. public high schoolers will be covered once every current law finishes phasing in.
120 lessons across budgeting, banking, credit, investing, taxes and insurance. Free for every student in New Jersey.
State personal finance standards are generally built around the same core topics: budgeting, banking, credit and debt, investing, taxes, and insurance. Finlingo's 120-lesson path covers all six across six units, so it lines up with most state frameworks whether or not New Jersey mandates a course.
Yes. Finlingo is free for every student, teacher, and chapter advisor in New Jersey and everywhere else. There are no ads and no paid tier. Students make a free account and can join a teacher's class with a code.
Yes. Competition Prep is a separate track from the lesson path: 717 exam-style questions across 27 business and finance topics, an endless shuffled practice mode, scored tests from 10 to 100 questions, and a review bank for missed questions. New Jersey chapters can also compete on the state and national leaderboards.