Modulo

FoolProofMe

Recommended Ages

9th-12th Grades

Financial literacy programs often focus on memorizing terms instead of changing behavior. FoolProofMe, a free online curriculum for middle and high school students, flips that by centering critical thinking about advertising, credit, and consumer traps. Created by consumer advocates and supported by credit unions, it uses videos, interactive modules, and real-world scenarios to challenge students to slow down and question “too good to be true” offers. We love that it’s completely free, ad-free, and grounded in protecting young people from predatory practices rather than steering them toward products. It’s best suited for roughly grades 7–12 in homeschool, classroom, or youth program settings. The interface is more functional than flashy, but the content is strong and up to date. Pro tip: pair each module with a real-life task—reviewing a bank offer, dissecting an ad, or building a basic budget—to make lessons stick.

Ideal for motivated middle and high school students who are ready to think critically about advertising, credit, and online offers, and for families seeking a serious, secular financial literacy course that can support a high school econ or consumer math credit.

Pros

Free, standards-aligned financial literacy and consumer life-skills curriculum for middle and high schoolers, built around peer-to-peer videos and interactive modules that emphasize healthy skepticism, trustworthiness, and personal responsibility; it meets Council for Economic Education standards and is recommended by Modulo and other secular guides as a rigorous option that actually aims to change behavior, not just teach terms. oai_citation:5‡Modulo

Cons

The modules are video- and reading-heavy and can feel intense or grown-up for younger or reluctant learners; the interface is more functional than flashy, and parents wanting lots of hands-on budgeting games, printable workbooks, or open-and-go elementary lessons will need to supplement or look elsewhere.

Because FoolProofMe is completely free to schools and families, it doesn’t require ESA or charter payments; instead, many states and districts list it as an approved or recommended option for meeting financial‑literacy standards.

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FoolProofMe
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Skills

What kids will learn
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Financial Literacy
Financial Literacy
Life Skills
Life Skills
Economics
Economics

FoolProofMe Mission

FoolProofMe’s mission is to teach young people real financial literacy by making healthy skepticism their first line of defense against manipulation. Instead of promoting specific products, its free online curriculum uses peer-to-peer videos, interactive modules, and candid stories to help students question advertisers, read the fine print, and make money decisions that protect their long-term well-being.

FoolProofMe Story

In the early 2000s Dutch consumer advocate Will deHoo became concerned that most “financial education” was funded by the very industries that profit when consumers make mistakes. Encouraged by legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite to do something about it, he and a group of young collaborators created FoolProof as an independent, ad-free curriculum focused on consumer self-defense. Over the next two decades the program grew into FoolProofMe, a nonprofit initiative of the FoolProof Foundation whose middle- and high-school resources are now used by thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students each year, earning endorsements from major consumer advocacy organizations.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about FoolProofMe

In a typical session, your teen logs in, watches a short video segment with stories and animations about, say, buying a phone plan, then answers interactive questions and scenario‑based quizzes. You might hear them groan at a sneaky advertising trick, then later over dinner they excitedly explain why an offer is “too good to be true” and how they’d look for unbiased information instead. 

FoolProofMe is a free, online financial‑literacy and consumer‑life‑skills curriculum where teens work through self‑paced, video‑rich modules on topics like banking, credit, advertising, and online safety. Teachers or parents create classes, assign modules, and track completion with built‑in pre‑ and post‑tests, while students hear from young narrators who model “healthy skepticism” about marketing claims and money decisions. 

Parents and caregivers can be as involved as they like—some assign modules and then simply review completion reports, while others watch videos alongside their kids and use the scenarios to spark family discussions about budgeting, debt, and online safety.

Designed for middle‑ and high‑school students who can read at roughly a 6th‑grade level and navigate a web‑based platform; no prior financial knowledge is required.

FoolProofMe focuses on media literacy and consumer awareness, making it very relevant for teens with ADHD, autism, or other vulnerabilities who may be targeted by scams and manipulative advertising. The modules are text‑heavy, so audio support and adult‑led discussion can make it more accessible.

There are no fees for the core curriculum, so no refunds are needed—if it isn’t a fit, you can simply stop using the modules and close your account.

Not a fit for most elementary-age children, for teens who cannot yet manage multi-step online lessons without support, or for families wanting a very light-touch “money chat” resource rather than a full, semester-length curriculum.

Alternatives and complements include The Actuarial Foundation’s free math and financial literacy resources, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), EverFi’s digital courses, and hands-on tools like family budget meetings or envelope systems. oai_citation:6‡actuarialfoundation.org

FoolProof regularly updates modules to reflect current scams, online risks, and financial realities, and their curriculum is increasingly referenced in state financial‑literacy guidance and standards documents.

Have your teen complete one module at a time and immediately connect it to real life—checking the fine print on a real credit card offer, comparing phone plans, or analyzing an ad together—so the lessons feel concrete and memorable instead of abstract.

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Meet Will

Will deHoo is a Dutch-born consumer advocate and media producer who founded the FoolProof Foundation in the mid-2000s with mentoring and support from Walter Cronkite. Starting FoolProof in his early twenties, he set out to build financial literacy tools that put the interests of students and underserved consumers ahead of banks and credit card companies. As co-founder and content director, he has spent years developing video-driven curricula, leading outreach to schools, and championing the idea that skepticism and careful research are essential life skills for every young person.