Welcome to Illinois Personal Finance Challenge!
Fall Registration Open Now
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office in partnership with the UIC Center for Economic Education presents the Illinois Personal Finance Challenge (IPFC). The IPFC is a competition that provides students with an exciting and motivating opportunity to build, apply, and demonstrate their knowledge in money management. In Illinois, high school students will participate in statewide competition and have the opportunity to qualify for the national level of the challenge.
High school teams in Illinois can showcase their expertise in earning income, spending, saving, managing credit, investing, and managing risk through online exams offered during fall and spring testing windows. All teachers will be able to access their students’ scores. Top scoring high school teams from fall and spring testing will be invited to compete in a virtual case study, which will determine the Illinois state winner. Case study materials for the state finals will be sent to top scoring teams on April 7, 2025, and completed case studies will be due April 11, 2025 at noon.
Other teams not competing in the state finals will be provided with case study materials from the previous year. Teams not competing in the state finals are not required to turn in materials to IPFC, but teachers are welcome to use it as a culminating assessment or project in their classroom.
Teams of 3-4 high school students with one teacher can qualify to represent Illinois at the National Personal Finance Challenge by winning the Illinois case study final round. They will advance to National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia on June 1 and 2, 2025.
How It Works
- Teacher Registration - High school teachers must register at least one team of 3-4 students. Teachers can have multiple teams. Online teacher registration for the fall testing window is open now through December 9, 2024. Spring registration will open January 8, 2025. Returning teachers can use existing login credentials.
- Online Exam - High school students compete in the first round of competition online, with an open testing window from November 18 – December 13, 2024. The spring testing window will be March 3 – March 21, 2025.
- Virtual Case Study - Top teams from the fall and spring will compete in a virtual case study for the state finals. Case study materials for the state finals will be sent to top scoring teams on April 7, 2025, and completed case studies will be due April 11, 2025 at noon.
- National Finals - The winning team from Illinois finals advances to National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia on June 1 and 2, 2025. National Finals will be held at Voya headquarters. Lodging and food will be covered for the team and a teacher.
National Finals offers cash prizes to nationally ranking teams thanks to sponsor Voya Financial. Cash prizes listed are for each team member and the teacher in National Finals.
- 1st Place: $2,000
- 2nd Place: $1,000
- 3rd Place: $500
- 4th Place: $250
Registration is FREE and practice tests and resources are available online for all teams. Checkout the teacher toolkit with lessons and activities in the six areas of knowledge.
Congratulations to last year's semi-finalists and state winners!
Classic IPFC
-
1st Place: Stevenson High School led by Sandra Wright
-
2nd Place: College Preparatory School of America led by Asim Gaffar
-
3rd Place: Illinois Math and Science Academy led by Steven Goldblatt
Access Zone IPFC
-
1st Place: West Chicago Community High School led by Candace Fikis
-
2nd Place: Collinsville High School led by Vicki Fuhrhop
-
Special recognition for having the most students participate – 160 students!
-
-
3rd Place: Kenwood Academy High School led by Corinna Christman
See what state winners had to say about the competition.
"The case study analysis is probably one of the best takeaways for the students as they can apply their knowledge to a family that one day might be similar to their financial status as a family. They learned lots of real ways people can build financial stability and wealth and plan for future economic goals and retirement."
– Candace Fikis, teacher
Community High School
West Chicago
"Financial literacy is not a subject. It's a skill for a lifetime. Earning money is important, but understanding money is critical."
– Sid Singh, student
Stevenson High School
Lincolnshire
