Finance 101
Ten short modules, from your first paycheck to how Kamehameha Schools makes an endowment last for generations. Each one has real Hawaiʻi numbers, a tool to try, and a quick check at the end.
Written by Todd Wu for students who were never taught this in school.
Start anywhere
10 modules, about 2 hours in all. Progress saves in this browser, no account needed.
Begin with your first paycheckTier 1 of 3
Foundation
The vocabulary and habits everyone should leave high school with. No experience needed.
Your first paycheck
4 lessons, 14 minKnow where every dollar goes before you spend it.
In Hawaiʻi: $16 an hour, before anyone takes a cut
Time is your biggest asset
4 lessons, 12 minSee why starting at 16 beats starting with more money at 30.
In Hawaiʻi: A summer job can fund a retirement account
Borrowing without getting buried
4 lessons, 12 minUse credit to build your future, not to rent your past.
In Hawaiʻi: A car is often the first big loan
Owning a piece of the economy
4 lessons, 15 minUnderstand stocks, bonds and index funds in plain language.
In Hawaiʻi: You can own the company that ships your groceries
Tier 2 of 3
Application
Put the basics to work: risk, company value, how economies move, and starting a business.
Risk and the tourism lesson
4 lessons, 14 minLearn why spreading your bets is the closest thing to a free lunch.
In Hawaiʻi: An economy with most of its eggs in one basket
What is a company worth?
4 lessons, 15 minRead a business the way an analyst does.
In Hawaiʻi: Value a business you have actually visited
How the island economy works
4 lessons, 15 minFollow a dollar through Hawaiʻi and see why prices are what they are.
In Hawaiʻi: The second life of a dollar
Starting something of your own
4 lessons, 14 minPrice a product, find your break-even point, and survive a slow season.
In Hawaiʻi: From a farmers market table to a storefront
Tier 3 of 3
Community
Money in Hawaiʻi specifically: what it costs to stay, and how wealth lasts for generations.
The cost of staying home
4 lessons, 16 minUnderstand why island housing costs so much, and what that means for your plans.
In Hawaiʻi: Stay or go?
Kuleana: money that lasts generations
4 lessons, 13 minLearn how endowments think in centuries, and what that teaches about your own money.
In Hawaiʻi: A princess's estate, still working
Values we learn by
Money skills sit inside something older. These ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi words shape how the course talks about wealth: as something to care for and pass on.
- Kuleana
- Responsibility, and the privilege that comes with it.
- Understanding your own money, then helping your ʻohana understand theirs.
- Mālama
- To care for, protect and tend.
- Looking after what you already have before chasing more.
- Lōkahi
- Unity, balance and harmony.
- Balancing spending, saving and giving. A diversified portfolio is a kind of lōkahi.
- Pono
- Righteousness, balance, doing what is right.
- Earning and investing in ways you can be proud of.
- Ahupuaʻa
- A traditional land division running from the mountains to the sea.
- A whole-system view: every resource used, shared and replenished within one community.
- Hoʻomau
- To persevere, to keep going.
- Staying invested through hard years. Every market recovery rewarded people who held on.