FINANCE PARK
JA Finance Park® helps students build a foundation to make informed financial decisions related to income, expenses, savings and credit.
Program Details
Through engaging classroom curriculum and a hands-on budgeting simulation implemented through a JA Finance Park mobile pop-up, students apply their learning to create a family budget based on hypothetical life scenarios. From goal setting to saving, budgeting, investing, shopping, and bill paying, students will step into the future and catch a glimpse of what’s possible when they take control of their financial futures.
About Finance Park
- Event length: 3 or 4 hours (varies by location)
- Event format: In-person (on-site in person experiential simulation)
What will youth do and learn?
- Analyze how careers, education, taxes, and income influence financial well-being.
- Evaluate the benefits, risks, and trade-offs of saving, spending, borrowing, and investing.
- Select and justify appropriate financial tools, services, and payment methods for different situations.
- Participate in a simulation to make financial decisions and create a household budget using a hypothetical life scenario
Curriculum Alignment
Finance Park supports the delivery of financial literacy and career education outcomes across Canadian curricula. Through the classroom component of the program, students build foundational knowledge and skills through ready-to-use, curriculum-aligned resources, which they then apply and strengthen through an immersive interactive simulation experience.
Students develop and apply learning in the following key areas:
- Personal financial management (budgeting, saving, spending, earning, payment methods, cost of goods and services, investing, and borrowing)
- Career exploration and income awareness (connecting career pathways to earning potential, income and expenses, payroll deductions, and taxes)
- Long-term planning and goal setting (financial planning to achieve future goals)
- Critical thinking and responsible financial decision-making (analyzing financial situations, understanding the cost of borrowing, and making informed decisions about credit and spending)
Connect With Your Local JA Office
Program availability varies by location. Please reach out to your local JA office to confirm specific program options in your local community and to register to participate in the program (as an educator or volunteer).
Independent Learning
Discover free online programs that help youth build skills in money management, career exploration, and entrepreneurship.
