About this event
Financial Planning (added for 2025-26) gives you a detailed family case each year and asks you to build a financial plan that helps them reach their goals, covering areas such as budgeting, saving, debt, investing, insurance, and retirement. Team event (1 to 3 members). How it runs: there is no test. You present your plan live to judges: 3 minutes to set up, a 7-minute presentation, and 3 minutes of questions. Internet access is not provided. At the National Leadership Conference there is a preliminary round, and the top scorers from each section advance to a final round, where the final presentation score decides the winners.
FormatPresentation
Duration3 minutes setup, 7-minute presentation, 3 minutes Q&A
Solo or teamTeam event
CategoryAccounting & Finance
Your plan
How to study
Built from the official rating sheet and the event's own clock.
Read the guidelines and the sheet
Everything is scored on the rating sheet below. The official guidelines give the rules, the deadlines and what to submit.
Official guidelines (opens in a new tab)Outline it against the sheet
Give each part of your entry the room its points earn, starting from the biggest rows, so nothing on the sheet is left out.
See the sheetWrite it yourself
Your entry should be your own work. ChapterPrep's judge scores it and asks questions; it never writes it for you.
Rehearse the presentation
Type or say your presentation. The judge scores it on the official rating sheet and times you against the 7-minute limit.
Get judged on your presentationRehearse to the clock
You have 7 minutes, then 3 minutes of questions. Time every run, out loud, start to finish.
Judging
What judges score
- Demonstrates understanding of the topic and defines the client's situation10
- Budgeting20
- Debt management15
- Investments and retirement15
- Goal attainment15
- Recommendations15
- Professional guidance10
- Substantiates and cites sources used while conducting research10
Presentation Delivery
- Statements are well organized and clearly stated10
- Displays confidence, poised body language, engaging eye contact and effective voice projection10
- Demonstrates the ability to effectively answer questions10
Presentation Protocols
- Adherence to Competitive Events Guidelines10
Total 150 points
Guidelines and resources
Bookmark to saveCurated by ChapterPrep. Free unless noted. External links open in a new tab.
Free guides for this kind of event
- Book · OpenStaxCollege Success, Sec. 10.1: Personal Financial Planning (opens in a new tab)
- Book · OpenStaxCollege Success, Sec. 10.2: Savings, Expenses, and Budgeting (opens in a new tab)
- Book · OpenStaxCollege Success, Sec. 10.4: Credit Cards and Other Debt (opens in a new tab)
- Book · OpenStaxContemporary Mathematics, Sec. 6.7: Investments (opens in a new tab)
- Article · U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionInvestor.gov: Working with an Investment Professional (opens in a new tab)