Unit 9: Capstone: Your First Year on Your Own
Last updated 10/14/2026 by
Andrew Latham
Summary:
Money decisions rarely arrive one topic at a time. The capstone asks you to combine everything into a real plan for the year after high school.
This is Unit 9 of 9 in Money 101 by SuperMoney, a free personal finance course. It takes about 1.5 weeks in a classroom, or 45 to 90 minutes on your own. When your plan is done, mark this unit complete below, then take the final quiz.
What you’ll learn
- Build a complete first-year financial plan for a chosen path.
- Compare two real financial products using their disclosures.
- Adjust the plan after unexpected life events.
- Explain your three most important decisions.
Key terms
- Financial plan: A written plan connecting income, spending, saving, debt, protection and goals.
- Trade-off: Choosing one thing means giving up another. Every financial decision has one.
- Opportunity cost: The value of the best option you did not choose.
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Lesson 9.1: Choose your path
Pick one path for the year after graduation: a four-year college, community college, a trade program or apprenticeship, military service or full-time work. Research the real numbers for your area: pay or aid, housing, transportation and insurance.
Your plan must include: monthly income after taxes, a full budget with sinking funds, an emergency fund goal, how you will build credit safely, how any education is paid for, insurance you need, and your first investment step.
Lesson 9.2: Life happens
During the project your teacher (or parent) will hand out three life event cards. Examples: your hours are cut by 25% for two months; a $900 medical bill arrives; you get a $1.50 an hour raise; your laptop dies; a friend asks you to co-sign a car loan. For each, show what changes in your plan and why.
Finally, compare two real financial products of the same type: two credit cards, two auto loans or two savings accounts. Use their official disclosures and defend your choice.
What a strong capstone includes
Checklist used in the rubric.
| Income | Realistic, sourced, after taxes |
| Budget | All needs, wants and saving; at least three sinking funds |
| Safety | Emergency fund goal with a timeline; insurance chosen |
| Credit and debt | A credit-building plan; any borrowing justified by total cost |
| Future | A first investing step and a 5-year goal |
| Life events | Three events handled with specific changes |
Takeaway: Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect. You need to understand it well enough to change it when life does.
Capstone deliverable
Submit a one-page financial plan (template below) and give a two-minute presentation of your three most important decisions.
- Path chosen and where
- Monthly take-home pay
- Housing, transportation, food, insurance, phone
- Sinking funds and emergency fund goal
- Credit plan and any debt
- First investment step
- Life event 1, 2, 3 and your response
- Product comparison and choice
The printable worksheet and the sample documents for this activity are in the Money 101 course book (PDF).
Reflect: Which money habit from this course will you actually keep, and how will you start?
Up next: Final quiz | Previous: Unit 8: Protecting Yourself: Insurance, Identity and Scams | Course overview
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Andrew is the Content Director for SuperMoney, a Certified Financial Planner®, and a Certified Personal Finance Counselor. He loves to geek out on financial data and translate it into actionable insights everyone can understand. His work is often cited by major publications and institutions, such as Forbes, U.S. News, Fox Business, SFGate, Realtor, Deloitte, and Business Insider.
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