Future Finance and Career Planning

This capstone unit integrates long-term financial planning, tax filing, risk management, and career/postsecondary decision-making to prepare students for life after high school. Students will practice retirement-saving strategies, insurance choices, tax preparation and documentation, and application/negotiation skills while assembling professional records and resources.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze long-term saving and investment scenarios to project retirement growth and compare strategies that reflect ‘starting small, staying consistent’ and long-term benefit trade-offs
• Apply federal and state tax concepts by calculating adjusted gross income, identifying applicable tax brackets, using free filing tools to prepare a basic tax return, and organizing a personal tax folder to track refunds and records
• Evaluate insurance and consumer-protection options by comparing types of coverage, identifying identity-theft safeguards, and recommending appropriate protection based on life stage and career choice
• Demonstrate career and postsecondary readiness by completing mock college/trade/military applications, negotiating an employment offer, assembling a multimedia portfolio of personal wins, and identifying mentors and community resources