Frequently Asked Questions

Every year MCEE hosts the Minnesota Personal Finance Challenge. This Challenge is an opportunity for high school students to demonstrate their knowledge of Personal Finance by competing with other students across the state.  Teachers and students throughout Minnesota are able to participate regardless of travel or budgetary constraints. In the first, qualifying round, each team of up to four students will complete online tests that cover topics in money management, credit, investing, and insurance.  After the qualifying rounds (fall and spring) are complete, the top teams will be invited to the in-person State Competition.

1. Earning Income

2. Spending

3. Saving

4. Investing

5. Managing Credit

6. Managing Risk

All Minnesota high school students are eligible. Teachers can register as many teams as they like, with 3-4 students on each team.

Note: All students on a team must be from the same school or club. 

*Students enrolled in a PSEO Economics/Personal Finance class are not eligible to compete. 

Teams of students (3-4 per team) will compete in an online test that covers topics in money management, credit, investing, and insurance. The top twelve or so schools (based on score) will advance to the in-person state competition, where students will analyze a case study and present recommendations to a panel of judges and from there advance to a quiz bowl round. 

The winning team from the state competition will advance to the National Personal Finance Challenge.

Team Composition

1. Teams shall be comprised of three to four members.

2. All members of a team must be from the same high school or club.

3. Students enrolled in a PSEO Economics/Personal Finance class are not eligible to compete.  

4. A team that qualifies for the State Competition may reconstitute the members of its team prior to the competition.  At least one team member must be from the original team. All team members must have competed in the online qualifying round of the competition.

Online Competition Rules

1. Supervision must be provided to ensure legitimacy of results. *MCEE is available to help with virtual proctoring if needed. 

2. Team members must be separated during the online competition.

3. During the online competition, students are allowed a blank piece of paper and pen or pencil.

4. Calculators, phones, and/or other electronic devices are not allowed. The use of the internet or other resource materials is prohibited.

The team score is made up of the top three individual scores of team members. 

Qualifying for the State Competition

1. Depending on capacity, around twelve teams/schools will be invited to participate at the in-person state competition.

2. The teams/schools invited will be the teams with the highest score in the online qualifying round of the competition. If a school has more than one team that qualifies, the next highest score will fill the spot (schools advance from the qualifying round to the state round, not teams since you can reconstitute teams).

3. If fewer than 12 teams compete in the online qualifying round, up to two teams per school may be invited to the state competition.

State Competition Format 

• The State Competition will be composed of two rounds: the case study/critical thinking round and the quiz bowl round.

• The top four  highest-scoring schools  from the case study/critical thinking round will advance to the quiz bowl round to answer personal finance questions. 

• The team earning the most points in the quiz bowl round will be selected to represent Minnesota at the National Personal Finance Challenge competition.

There is no registration or entry fee to participate in the Personal Finance Challenge, however all teams will need to invest time and effort to prepare for the competition. Qualifying teams will be responsible for transportation costs to, and from, the state competition venue.  Please connect with MCEE if this hinders your participation in the state competition.

• Round 1:  Online Qualifying Round: Fall Session - December 1-31, 2025 OR Spring Session - March 1-30, 2026 (students may only compete in ONE qualifying round)

• Round 2: In-Person State Competition: University of MN St. Paul Campus, April 24, 2026

• Round 3: In-Person National Finals: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA: May 31-June 1, 2026

Visit the Personal Finance Challenge Registration page to see more dates and information.

Visit the  registration page which includes dates, forms, instructions, and deadlines for each competition.

We recommend that you try to have all team members test simultaneously, but we recognize that isn't always possible. It's not necessary for all students on a team to take the test at the same time.  *Students must test within two days of one another. 

Teacher Toolkit - Curated by the national Council on Economic Education

We recommend reviewing sample tests and practicing with some of our other resources.

• • Overview of Areas of Personal Finance 

  • Sample Multiple Choice Questions

  • 2024 Case Study 

  • 2023 Case Study

  • 2022 Case Study

  • 2021 Case Study

  • Sample Case Study

  • Sample Case Study

  • Past National Competition Tests - Case Study Round

  • Past National Competition Tests - Multiple-Choice Round

The national Council on Economic Education has created a three session webinar series (on-demand) which is great for newcomers and veteran teachers.  The series covers the six standards of personal finance, features two lesson plan demonstrations for each standard, and finally, ties all the learning back to the competition. 

Webinar 1  |  Webinar 2  |  Webinar 3

Ready Assessments is a free educational technology tool where you can easily access ready-made K-12 personal finance and economics tests and quizzes on EconEdLink.org.  This tool offers:

• Over 2,800 personal finance and economics national standards aligned questions.

• Ready-made tests including 8 nationally normed pre- and post-tests like Test of Economic Literacy, Test of Economic Knowledge, Test of Understanding College Economics - Macro, Basic Finance Test, Test of Financial Literacy, and more!

• Simple rostering using class codes.

• Auto-grading with built-in gradebook and reports.

Round 1 Competition:

• Individual Student Prizes: The top 10 students will receive a $50 cash prize based on their test score.

• Team Prizes: The top 10 team’s students will receive a $50 cash prize based on their team score.

• Team Prizes: The top 10 teams receive a trophy based on their team score.

• Teacher Prizes: The top 10 team’s teachers will receive a $100 cash prize based on their team score.

State Competition:

• The 1st-4th place team’s students will receive a cash prize based on winning the competition: 1st Place: $100/student | 2nd Place: $75/student | 3rd Place: $50/student | 4th Place: $25/student

• The 1st-4th place team will receive a trophy and banner based on winning the competition.

• The 1st-4th place team’s teachers will receive a cash prize based on winning the competition: 1st Place: $100/teacher | 2nd Place: $75/teacher | 3rd Place: $50/teacher | 4th Place: $25/teacher 

• All participating students and teachers receive a t-shirt.

The online qualifying round of competition runs has two sessions - Fall (December 1-31, 2025) and Spring (March 1-30, 2026). Shortly after the conclusion of the Spring Qualifying round, schools will be notified if they have qualified for the State Competition. Visit the  registration page which includes dates, forms, instructions, and deadlines for each competition. 

Additionally, qualifying teams will be posted on MCEE social media.

The state competition will run from approximately 8 AM to 2:30 PM. A continental breakfast will be provided in the morning and lunch will be provided after the first round of presentations.

Note: This tentative schedule may be subject to change.