Put Student Money Smarts to The Test!
The Maryland Personal Finance Challenge gives high school students the chance to demonstrate their knowledge and application of personal finance concepts such as savings, spending, managing risk, credit, investing, and income.
Designed for classes in economics, business, marketing, personal finance, and STEM, the Challenge is a dynamic way for teachers to:
- bring financial literacy to life.
- builds critical thinking, collaboration, and presentation skills.
- Empower students to learn the personal finance concepts they need to make smart choices in the future!
Plus, registration is free!
Students work in teams to learn about personal finance. Then, they take an online test to show their learning. The top teams are then invited to the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve in Baltimore City to compete for the title of Maryland State Champion — and the winning team advances to represent our state at the National Personal Finance Challenge.
In both the state and national rounds of the Personal Finance Challenge, teams are given a real-world scenario or family’s financial profile. Teams are given 1 hour to develop a presentation analyzing the information and suggesting strategies for the family to reach their financial goals. They answer questions in a Quiz Bowl round.
2026-2027 Competition Dates
Maryland Personal Finance Challenge
Online Testing: Note a student may participate in either the fall or spring testing session, but not both.
- Fall Online Testing: December 2026
- Spring Online Testing: Spring 2027
Maryland Personal Finance Challenge Finals: April 2027
National Personal Finance Challenge
More information on date and place in late Fall 2026
2026 National Personal Finance Challenge Results
National Champion: Mt. Hebron High School
Watch the 2026 National Personal Finance Challenge Quiz Bowl here.
2026 Maryland Personal Finance Challenge
Congratulations to this year’s winners
1 Place – Mt Hebron High
2 Place- Marriotts Ridge High
3 Place- Centennial High
4 Place – Illuminate Maryland
Congratulations to the top 8 finishing teams who participated in the online testing and qualified for Round two in the State Competition.
-
Centennial High
-
Edgewood High
-
Gwynn Park High
-
Illuminate Maryland
-
Marriotts Ridge High
-
Montgomery Blair High
-
Mt Hebron High
-
Potomac High
Coaching Resources
Personal Finance Speaker Series Videos
Find the videos and related lesson plans.
2026 PFC Teacher Advisor Manual
The manual includes details about how the competition works, prizes, timeline and other details. Updates coming soon.
2026 MCEE PFC Teacher Advisor Resources
Find a comprehensive list of resources, practice tests and other preparation materials.
2026 Rules and Eligibility
Learn about the rules and regulations for participating at the national level.
CEE Coach’s Toolkit
Includes: Essential lessons, activities, supplemental lessons and activities, videos, quizzes.
Case Study Presentation Critique
Watch a presentation, learn about scoring and hear comments from the judges.
On Demand Webinar Series for Teachers/Advisors
This webinar series is presented by CEE partners, Dr. Julie Heath and Susan McNamara. Each episode features two one-hour sessions. Each session will cover one of the six National Standards for Financial Literacy, two lesson plans relating to that standard, and a tie-back of the lessons and learnings to the NPFC.
2024 Recap Video
This webinar series is presented by CEE partners, Dr. Julie Heath and Susan McNamara. Each episode features two one-hour sessions. Each session will cover one of the six National Standards for Financial Literacy, two lesson plans relating to that standard, and a tie-back of the lessons and learnings to the NPFC.
On Demand Webinar Series for Teachers/Advisors
Have your students test their knowledge by taking a practice test.
Sample Case Studies
MCEE Personal Finance Challenge Promotional Video
Personal Finance Challenge: Getting Started
Personal Finance Challenge Sponsors
