Financial Literacy Escape Room
Personal Finance Review Activity · No Prep
- Grades
- Grades 7–12
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 29
- Answer keys
- Included
Opens our store on Teachers Pay Teachers, where you can see the full preview and buy.
Turn your personal finance review into a mystery students can't put down! In this no-prep financial literacy escape room, teams follow the money to find out why 19-year-old Jordan never received his paycheck. Six puzzle stations review budgeting, banking, interest, credit, paychecks and scams, and every code unlocks the next station.
What's included
- Teacher guide with learning goals, materials, station overview and differentiation (support, on level, challenge)
- Setup & game-master guide with timing for a 50-60 minute period, hint rules and a no-envelope option
- Standards page (Jump$tart personal finance + Common Core math)
- Case File story page with team roles and rules
- Answer recording sheet with 6 lock graphics (number, word and directional locks)
- Station 1 Budgeting: a coffee-stained budget notebook with 3 hidden amounts
- Station 2 Banking: a realistic checking account statement with a running balance
- Station 3 Interest: savings options, simple and compound interest, Rule of 72, FDIC insurance
- Station 4 Credit: a credit card statement, credit utilization, interest and FICO score factors
- Station 5 Paycheck: a pay stub with overtime, FICA taxes and net pay
- Station 6 Scams: an inbox of 6 emails, texts and messages to judge Scam or Legit
- Each station: an evidence page + a puzzle page with Detective Check questions
- 12 hint cards (2 per station) and 6 station envelope labels
- Case Closed debrief, exit tickets (2 per page) and a Certificate of Escape
- Complete answer keys: codes at a glance, worked solutions and common wrong codes
How to use it
Use it as an end-of-unit review, test prep or a fun Financial Literacy Month activity in personal finance, consumer math, economics, FACS, advisory or homeroom. Teams of 3-4 work through the stations in one class period (or two). Print and go: put each station in an envelope, or simply staple the packets and initial each lock as teams solve it. No lock boxes needed.
Skills practiced
Zero-based budgeting50/30/20 guidelinerunning balancessimple & compound interestRule of 72credit utilizationcredit scoresgross & net payovertimepayroll taxesphishing red flagsteamwork
