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About Iowa Jump$tart

Welcome

Iowa Personal Finance logo

Fall Challenge (Online): Oct. 1 2026 - Dec. 18, 2026

Spring Challenge (Online): Jan. 1, 2027 - March 12, 2027

State Finals (Des Moines): TBD

 

State Finals

  • Both Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Iowa Personal Finance Challenge participants will be eligible to participate in the State Finals.

  • The top 20 teams will qualify to participate in the State Finals.

  • Students may participate in the Fall or Spring semester, but not both.

  • State finals will be: TBD

National Finals

  • National Economics Challenge Finals - National finals will consist of a critical thinking round and a quiz bowl round for the top teams.
  • Date: TBD
  • Location: TBD
  • State Registration Deadline: TBD

What is the Personal Finance Challenge? 

Each year, the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition, with support from the National Council for Economic Education hosts the the Iowa Personal Finance Challenge. The challenge is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge of personal finance by connecting with other students from across the state in an online competition.

Personal Finance Challenge map

How does the challenge work?

Teams of 3-4 students will have 35 minutes to complete a 30-question online exam covering the principles of personal finance including money management, credit, investing, and insurance.

Students earn 10 points for every correct response and 0 points for each incorrect answer. Every question must be answered to move on, and students are not able to go back to previous questions.

There will be a cash prize for the top two teams in each region for both the fall and spring challenges for both middle school and high school:

  • 1st Place: $25 per student
  • 2nd Place: $15 per student

The top 2 high school teams in each region, fall and spring (total of 16 teams), are invited to the state championships for a live competition with student teams from across the state. State finalists will be assigned a fictional case-study with time to prepare a presentation sharing their recommendations for the fictional client before a panel of judges including economists, business leaders and financial professionals. 

Next Steps

  1. If you are new to the Iowa Personal Finance Challenge, welcome! You will need to select "Teacher Registration" from the menu and create your teacher profile. Once you profile is created, you will be able to log in and begin creating your teams.
  2. If you are a returning teacher, welcome back! Your profile information is saved from your previous participation, and you can log in to begin creating your teams for this year's challenge!
  3. Teachers sign up their team(s).  *You may sign up multiple teams on your teacher admin page, after you log-in  -- no need to register more than once.

Teacher Drawing

For each registered team that completes the challenge, teachers will be entered into a drawing for a $100 cash prize.

Teachers can create as many student teams as they'd like. 

Research has shown that student clubs and competitions increase student participation, promote attendance, and help students achieve higher grades and standardized test scores.

If you are interested in sponsoring the 2026-2027 Personal Finance Challenge, please reach out there are many ways to help.

 

2025-2026 Sponsors:

Wells Fargo ,Iowa Insurance Division, Veridian Credit Union, GreenState Credit Union, ISL Education Lending, Iowa State Treasurers Office and Iowa Jump$tart Coalition. We are thankful for their generous support of the Iowa Economics Challenge!