Your Students Deserve More Than Facts, Rules, Terms, and Formulas.
Most personal finance textbooks teach students what to do. The Strategic Money Method teaches them how to decide — a distinction that matters enormously when students face real financial situations that don't fit the rules they've memorized.
Developed by a CFP® and finance professor with over a decade of classroom experience across the country, these materials have been tested across course levels and student populations — from high school to university.
A Different Approach to a Different Kind of Course
Most personal finance curricula are designed to convey facts and ideas and they often do that very that well. But the evidence consistently shows that information transfer alone rarely changes financial behavior.
That's why these materials are built around a different premise: that teaching personal finance effectively requires elements of both traditional pedagogy and behavioral coaching. How students learn to think and decide is just as important as what they know.
The result is a curriculum that doesn't just inform students. It changes how they think and choose.
“For over a decade, I have been looking for a relevant resource to help my students go beyond financial definitions and rules of thumb for money decisions. The Strategic Money Method is just that resource, and it is certain to become a class favorite."
- Dr. Jacob A. Tenney, PhD, CFP®, Associate Professor, Director of Financial Planning Program University of Charleston
"I’ve worked my entire adult career in higher education and have come across only a handful of academicians who are able to convey complex concepts with an abundance of clarity and a healthy dose of humility. Dr. Payne has accomplished that!"
-Dr. Daniel McDonald, Distinguished Outreach Professor,
Take Charge America Endowed Chair, University of Arizona
A Flexible Toolkit — Choose What Fits Your Course
These materials work as a standalone adoption or a bundle.
The Strategic Money Method - Critical Thinking
Best for: financial literacy, financial decision-making, or behavioral finance courses
A decision-first guide to how smart financial choices are made. Rather than presenting rules for students to memorize, it builds the strategic thinking they can apply to any financial situation — now and throughout their lives. Students consistently report this is the first personal finance material that felt genuinely useful.
Strategic Money Foundations- Fundamentals + Math Skills
Best for: introductory personal finance courses covering core concepts and financial math
A two-part textbook that meets students where they are:
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Part I: Core Concepts — A friendly, narrative-style introduction to essential personal finance ideas, written at a level students will actually read.
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Part II: Essential Math — Tested in hundreds of classrooms, with clear step-by-step methods any student can follow. Includes QR codes linking to lecture videos for built-in support.
The nine essential math skills covered:
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Time value of money calculations
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Financial statement analysis
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Income tax calculations
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Cost of credit
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Affordability calculations
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Retirement calculations
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401(k) matching
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Order of funding retirement accounts
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Out-of-pocket insurance costs
Free Coursepack for Instructors
Available for either or both books - at no cost.
Everything you need to run a course using these books:
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200+ question variations across 40+ question types covering all 9 essential math skills — ready for upload to Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle
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Excel-format dynamic question generator for creating your own question pools in any LMS
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In-class projects with answer keys, key takeaways, and instructor notes
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Complete case study with assignments, answer keys, and key lessons
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Final essay assignment with instructions and grading rubric
