Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge
Economics Arkansas and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will host the 2024 Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge, an opportunity for high school students to demonstrate their knowledge of personal finance by competing against other students in a one-day challenge.
Arkansas Teachers may register up to 2 teams of 3-4 students to participate. No advance qualifications or tests are required.
PRELIMINARY ROUND:
Registration will be live from March 1-11 at Economics Arkansas event calendar (click on March 11 event).
Teachers of all registered teams will receive the 2024 case study on Tuesday, March 12 via email. Teams will collaborate and prepare a 6-minute slide deck presentation making suggestions based on the case study information.
Students should exhibit knowledge in areas such as earning income, buying goods and services, saving, using credit, investing, and protecting and insuring. Presentations are scored in content knowledge, teamwork, and communication skills.
Teams have until Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm to submit their presentation to acee@economicsarkansas.org; no changes may be made to the slide deck once it has been submitted. Judges will evaluate the slide deck presentations based on content.
The top 5 finalists will be notified on Wednesday, April 3 to let them know they are in the finals and their time to present on Wednesday, April 10.
FINALS:
When: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Where: Virtual Competition
Prize money, certificates, and medallions will be awarded.
The first-place winning team will split $500 and advance to the National Personal Finance Challenge hosted in June. Economics Arkansas will provide $1,500 in transportation costs. The National Personal Finance Challenge will cover hotel, food, and transportation costs to and from the hotel to the competition.
View complete rules and a sample case study here.
| Personal Finance Challenge | Prize Amount |
|---|---|
| 1st Place | $500 (split among team members) |
| 2nd Place | $300 (split among team members) |
| 3rd Place | $150 (split among team members) |
| 1st Place Teacher | $100 |
| 2nd Place Teacher | $75 |
| 3rd Place Teacher | $50 |
2023 Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge Winners
1st Place: Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts
Advisor: Carl Frank
2nd Place: Mountain Hom High School Career Academies
Advisor: Johnny Caststeel
3rd Place: Catholic High School for Boys
Advisor: David Massery
In June 2023, Arkansas' 1st Place winning team traveled to Cleveland, OH to compete against over thirty other student teams in the National Personal Finance Competition. Students from Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts finished 3rd overall.
Sponsors
The Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge is generously sponsored by title sponsor First Security Bank. Thank you.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact kathleen@economicsarkansas.org for more information.
ADE Crosswalk
The Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge aligns with the following Arkansas Department of Education-approved courses, topics, and events:
Business & Marketing Course(s):
- 491990 - Personal Finance
DECA, Inc.
- Personal Financial Literacy (PFL)
- Virtual Business Challenge - Personal Finance (VBCPF)
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA):
- Virtual Business Personal Finance Challenge
- Personal Finance
- Introduction to Financial Math Securities & Invesments
