Concept Taxonomy
Course: Personal Finance - A Practical Introduction to Modern Financial Literacy Total Categories: 12 Generated: 2025-11-20
This taxonomy organizes the 200 learning concepts into 12 distinct categories that align with the course structure while maintaining even distribution.
Category Definitions
1. Foundation Concepts (FOUND)
TaxonomyID: FOUND Description: Core financial literacy principles, goal setting, decision-making frameworks, and fundamental concepts that underpin all personal finance knowledge. Includes money management, opportunity cost, time value of money, and net worth concepts.
2. Banking & Accounts (BANK)
TaxonomyID: BANK Description: Financial institutions, account types (checking, savings), electronic banking services, payment systems, and account management. Covers both traditional and modern banking services including mobile apps and P2P payments.
3. Budgeting & Planning (BUDG)
TaxonomyID: BUDG Description: Personal budgeting methods, expense tracking, needs vs. wants analysis, emergency funds, and financial record keeping. Includes various budgeting frameworks (50/30/20, zero-based, envelope method) and savings strategies.
4. Credit & Debt (CRED)
TaxonomyID: CRED Description: Credit scores, credit reports, credit cards, debt types, interest calculations, and debt management strategies. Covers building good credit, responsible credit card use, and avoiding predatory lending.
5. Investing & Savings (INV)
TaxonomyID: INV Description: Investment fundamentals, risk and return, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, compound interest, and portfolio management. Includes asset allocation, diversification, and long-term investment strategies.
6. Income & Taxes (TAX)
TaxonomyID: TAX Description: Income types, paycheck components, tax withholding, tax filing, deductions, credits, and tax planning. Covers federal and state taxes, tax forms (W-4, W-2, 1040), and tax-advantaged accounts.
7. Insurance & Risk (INS)
TaxonomyID: INS Description: Insurance principles, coverage types (health, auto, life, disability, property), policy features, premiums, deductibles, and risk management strategies. Includes understanding insurance terminology and claims processes.
8. Loans & Purchases (LOAN)
TaxonomyID: LOAN Description: Major purchase decisions, auto loans, mortgages, loan terms and interest rates, renting vs. buying analysis, comparison shopping, and negotiation strategies. Covers both vehicle and housing financing.
9. Security & Protection (SEC)
TaxonomyID: SEC Description: Identity theft, financial scams, online security, consumer rights, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution. Includes password security, two-factor authentication, and recognizing common financial scams.
10. Education Planning (EDU)
TaxonomyID: EDU Description: College cost estimation, financial aid (FAFSA, scholarships, grants), student loans (federal and private), college ROI analysis, and alternative education pathways. Focuses on funding education decisions.
11. Career & Income (CAR)
TaxonomyID: CAR Description: Career exploration, income potential research, employee benefits, total compensation evaluation, side hustles, salary negotiation, and professional development. Covers strategies for maximizing earning potential.
12. Retirement Planning (RET)
TaxonomyID: RET Description: Retirement account types (401(k), IRA, Roth IRA), employer matching, Social Security, retirement savings targets, and estate planning basics. Focuses on long-term wealth accumulation and retirement readiness.
Distribution Guidelines
- Target distribution: Each category should contain approximately 8-25 concepts
- Maximum per category: No category should exceed 30% (60 concepts) of total
- Minimum per category: Each category should have at least 5 concepts
- Flexibility: Categories may vary in size based on natural topic boundaries
Category Mapping Summary
| TaxonomyID | Category Name | Approximate Concept Range | Estimated Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOUND | Foundation Concepts | 1-17, plus cross-cutting | ~20 |
| BANK | Banking & Accounts | 18-35 | ~18 |
| BUDG | Budgeting & Planning | 36-53 | ~18 |
| CRED | Credit & Debt | 54-78 | ~25 |
| INV | Investing & Savings | 79-108 | ~30 |
| TAX | Income & Taxes | 109-127 | ~19 |
| INS | Insurance & Risk | 128-149 | ~22 |
| LOAN | Loans & Purchases | 150-165 | ~16 |
| SEC | Security & Protection | 166-177 | ~12 |
| EDU | Education Planning | 178-186 | ~9 |
| CAR | Career & Income | 187-193 | ~7 |
| RET | Retirement Planning | 194-200 | ~7 |
Total: 200 concepts across 12 categories
Notes
- Categories align with the 12-chapter course structure for pedagogical consistency
- Foundation concepts are prerequisite knowledge needed across multiple other categories
- Some overlap is natural (e.g., tax-advantaged retirement accounts bridge TAX and RET categories)
- The taxonomy supports filtering and visualizing the learning graph by topic area
- Color coding in the final visualization will use these categories to distinguish concept types
This taxonomy will be used to add a TaxonomyID column to the learning-graph.csv file and create the groups section in the final JSON visualization format.