A reader asked if I had any recommendations for a good consumer math program for homeschoolers. 

There are a number of good Consumer Math programs out there.  Let me just outline my favorites and give you a brief overview of each.  Hopefully that will give you a good starting point.

Consumer Math Success Kit
This is a workbook format designed to be a supplement to a full Consumer Math program.  However, for a student who has a strong sense of math or who enjoys the application element of math, this is a terrific option.  The book contains 53 different consumer math topics including banking, borrowing, budgeting, income, taxes, investments, nutrition, savings, travel, bills, vacation planning and more.  Each section includes a brief introduction to the topic and at least one solved example.  It then provides several practice problems which illustrate the concepts discussed and are arranged from simple to more complex.  The last piece of each section is a page of teacher notes providing helpful information on new vocabulary, type of math needed for the problems and a few ideas for teaching.

If you are looking for an independent study of consumer math, this is probably not the book for you.  Ideally, you will want to be engaged with your student if you are using this book.  To order this one, call 800-685-3357 and request the title, Consumer Math Success Kit.   Cost is $29.75

Power Basics Consumer Math
Written in an easy-to-understand and independent study style, this course uses a step-by-step approach to strengthen money-management skills.  Broken into four units, Consumer Math includes tips for mastering the ideas, skills, and facts; real life applications for the skills you are mastering;  and “Think About It” questions to help students look at money management in new ways. 

The units in this course include Dollars and Sense, which reviews basic math skills as they apply to money; Spending Wisely, which teaches students how to create and balance a personal budget, to shop wisely, and how to get the best value for their money; Borrowing Wisely, which teaches about different kinds of loans, how to establish good credit and how to avoid going into debt and finally Banking, Insurance, and Taxes. 

My favorite feature in this program is the student workbook, where students engage in real life applications of what they are learning in an organized and relative way. 

This program also includes a pre-test, to identify what your student already knows, tests for each unit, and a post test that demonstrates progress. 

The full year kit includes a textbook, student workbook, teacher guide and test booklet.

To view this item or to order your copy, click here and type 4028 in the search box.

Lifepac Consumer Math 
With Lifepac Consumer Math, students will develop essential daily math skills for planning and organizing personal finances.  This course begins with a review of basic math skills, then shows students how to examine loans and credit cards, how to purchase goods, how to handle family finances, and other practical math skills.  More advanced than Power Basics Consumer Math detailed above, this course provides a stronger focus on critical thinking skills in addition to application activities.  It comes as a kit with 10 student worktexts (each with its own quizzes and tests) and a solution/test key.   To order/view this course, click here and type ES2315 in the search field.

Business Math  A twelve unit study of practical math skills that sets the stage for students to apply learned skills to real life situations in the home and business world.  Topics include checkbook reconciliation, budget preparation, calculation of discounts, insurance and more.

This course approaches math with a goal of mastery and includes a fair amount of repetition and review in order to solidify information and includes 12 separate units of study, each of which has its own quizzes and tests built in. 

A terrific course if you are looking for an independent study course that provides all of the instruction and practice in a format addressed to the student. 

To order/view this course, click here and click on Business Math.

 If you are looking for a more basic study of consumer math (appropriate for struggling learners or younger students), you might want to check out Life Skills for Today’s World.  This 96 page booklet is one book in a series of five Life Skills books that covers money and consumers.  Presented in large text and written at about a 3rd to 4th grade level, the book covers the basics of consumer math and includes topics such as banking services, checking accounts, credit and interest, budgets, bills, shopping smart, insurance and owning a car. 

This one would be ideal as a basic overview of consumer math or an introduction for young students.  I would not issue a credit for this course.

To order this book, call 800-685-3357 and request the book, Life Skills for Today’s World Money and Consumers.  Cost $11.90

 I know this is a lot of information to process, but I trust that the basic descriptions will help you determine the best approach for your child.

If you are looking for a fun website providing interactive consumer math activities, check out  http://www.learner.org/interactives/dailymath/

Homeschool Recommendations for Consumer Math

Do you remember bank books?  How exciting it was to head to the bank with your deposit and get a stamp in your book that not only tracked your deposit but also the interest you had earned?

Do you remember life before the check card?  When you kept a careful tab of your spending in your checkbook as well as a running balance?

How did you learn how to balance that checkbook?  When to pay your bills?  How to set up a budget and live within your means?

For some of you, this learning had to take place as you lived it.  For others, it was part of a course in high school.  For still others-especially those who were homeschooled, it was a learning experience as you shared in the financial aspects of your family.

For too many today, it is a missing piece of education. Yet we are astonished at the number of adults who are in desperate need of government assistance.  I would suggest that far too many have missed the necessary skills that are developed in a strong consumer math course.

There are many different types of students.  Some who are obviously meant for higher level math and rigorous academics.  Others, who will choose a vocation that does not rely on advanced math skills.

In most cases, those who choose not to take the Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, Statistics or Calculus end up taking Consumer Math almost by default–after all, they need that extra math credit.  However, those who pursue the more rigorous math courses rarely see any type of consumer math instruction once they begin high school.

I would suggest that no matter what mathematical future is in store for your child, consumer math is an essential part of any homeschool program!

In consumer math, your homeschooler will learn how fractions, decimals, percents and basic algebra apply to daily life.  In consumer math, homeschoolers learn how all of these skills apply to paying your bills, to grocery shopping, preparing your taxes, setting up a budget, balancing a checkbook, saving, avoiding debt, spending wisely, insurance, car payments, mortgages, and more.

Is your homeschooler prepared for the kind of math that creeps in to daily life?  Will she or he become a responsible and productive adult?

If you have an advanced math student, make consumer math an elective.

If you have a student who does not plan to pursue advanced math courses, don’t make consumer math a way out of more rigorous choices.  Instead make it a priority!

I guarantee you will never regret it!

Homeschool Math-Don’t Miss Consumer Math