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C. Planning and Financial Management to Help Meet Postsecondary Goals · Planning and Financial Management for Life After High School

Planning and Financial Management for Life After High School: Unit Review

C1 C1.1 C1.2 C1.3 C2 C2.1 C2.2 C2.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can refine a first-year postsecondary goal and plan the steps, opportunities and challenges on the way.
  • I can communicate my skills through a résumé, cover letter, interview, online profile and application essay.
  • I can explain the fundamentals of financial responsibility, compare savings options and forms of borrowing, and read a paycheque.
  • I can build a budget for my first postsecondary year and prepare for the financial literacy graduation requirement.

Words to know

refined goal
A specific goal that says what, where, when and why.
backward planning
Planning from the goal back to today.
accomplishment statement
Action verb + task + result.
STAR method
Situation, Task, Action, Result.
credit score
A number from 300 to 900 summarizing how reliably you use credit.
TFSA
A registered account (18+) where growth and withdrawals are tax-free.
OSAP
Ontario Student Assistance Program: grants and loans; repayment starts six months after full-time studies.
net pay
Pay after CPP, EI and income tax are deducted.
cash flow
When money comes in and goes out, month by month.
Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement
TVO modules in GLC2O; at least 70% to meet; up to two attempts; 5% of the course mark.

Let's review!

In this unit you chose and refined a goal for your first postsecondary year, planned backward to reach it, and built the tools to communicate your skills: résumés, cover letters, interviews, online profiles and essays. Then you learned to manage money: banking, bills and credit; saving early; comparing forms of borrowing including OSAP; reading a paycheque; building a first-year budget; and protecting yourself from fraud, which also prepares you for Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check.

The unit at a glanceC1 Creating a postsecondary plan1Choose afirst-year goal2Plan steps,Plan B3Résumé andcover letter4Interviews,profiles, essaysC2 Budgeting and financial management5Banking, bills,credit6Savingoptions7Forms ofborrowing8Paychequesand taxes9First-yearbudget10Fraud and theFL requirementC1 decides the goal; C2 makes it affordable.
Ten lessons in two parts: Lessons 1 to 4 build the plan (C1); Lessons 5 to 10 build the money skills to pay for it (C2).

How to use this review

Do two or three sections at a time. Write your answer before you check, and show your calculations for money questions. For each question you miss, note why (forgot a fact? mixed up two terms? arithmetic slip? used gross instead of net?) and reread that lesson's worked example. Rates and limits in this unit are dated 2026; if you are reading later, check current numbers. Finish with the 10-question quiz, then try a TVO practice assessment for the financial literacy requirement.

Choosing a Goal for Your First Postsecondary Year

1

Name the five postsecondary destinations.

2

What is the difference between a must-have and a nice-to-have?

3

Refine: "Work with cars."

Mapping the Road: Steps, Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges

1

What is backward planning?

2

Give one specific step and one general strategy for a university goal.

3

Why keep a Plan B?

Résumés and Cover Letters That Get Read

1

Which résumé type usually suits a student with little paid work?

2

Write an accomplishment statement for coaching a youth soccer team.

3

Name three things to leave off a Canadian résumé.

Interviews, Online Profiles and Application Essays

1

What does STAR stand for, and which part is longest?

2

Give two things to do after an interview.

3

Name two things that should never be on a public profile.

Fundamentals of Financial Responsibility: Banking, Bills and Credit

1

Who owns a credit union?

2

How can you use a credit card without paying interest on purchases?

3

Mo takes home $720 a month and spends $790. Is he living within his means? By how much is he over or under?

Saving Early and Comparing Savings Options

1

Why does saving early beat saving the same amount later?

2

Compare a HISA and a GIC for liquidity and interest.

3

At what age can you open a TFSA, and what was the 2026 annual limit?

4

How much does the Canada Education Savings Grant add to a $1,000 RESP contribution?

Comparing Forms of Borrowing

1

When does OSAP repayment start, and what interest does each part charge?

2

What is the most a payday lender can charge in Ontario to borrow $500?

3

Give one benefit and one risk of borrowing from family.

Earning Income: Paycheques, Deductions and Taxes

1

Name the three main paycheque deductions.

2

Lin, 16, works 14 hours at $16.90. Only EI (1.63%) is deducted. Find her net pay.

3

True or false: earning one dollar into a higher tax bracket makes all your income taxed at the higher rate.

Building a Budget for Your First Postsecondary Year

1

Name the four parts of a budget's key considerations.

2

Income $12,000; expenses $12,900. What is the result, and name two fixes.

3

Why plan cash flow and not just yearly totals?

Protecting Your Money and Getting Ready for the Financial Literacy Requirement

1

List three red flags of a scam.

2

Who must meet the financial literacy graduation requirement, and what mark is needed?

3

A $35.00 item is 20% off. What is the price with 13% HST?

Need money for school? Work down the ladder1. Money you don't repaygrants, bursaries, scholarships2. Your own moneysavings, net pay, RESP, family support3. Low-cost borrowingOSAP loans (Canada part 0%), line of credit4. Higher-cost borrowingcredit card (pay in full ASAP), overdraft5. Last resortpayday loan: up to $14 per $100 in Ontariocost and risk go up
When you need money for school, start at the top: free money first, then your own, then the cheapest borrowing. Each step down costs more and carries more risk.
Just for fun

Why did the student's budget go to the guidance office?

It needed help planning its future, and it heard everyone there was great at finding a balance.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is the most refined first-year goal?

2.

What is the first step in backward planning?

3.

Which is the strongest résumé line?

4.

In a STAR answer, what does the R show?

5.

Which habit builds a good credit score?

6.

Which account lets an 18-year-old's savings grow tax-free, with tax-free withdrawals?

7.

What interest does the Canada part of an OSAP loan charge?

8.

A 19-year-old earns $500 gross in a week. CPP is 5.95% of (gross − $67.31). What is the CPP deduction?

9.

A first-year budget shows income $13,400 and expenses $12,950. What is the result?

10.

Which statement about Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement is correct?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit:

  • Vague goals or confusion about destinations: Lesson 1 (Choosing a Goal).
  • Plans without dates, missing prerequisites or no Plan B: Lesson 2 (Mapping the Road).
  • Résumé lines that list duties, too much personal information: Lesson 3 (Résumés and Cover Letters).
  • Interview answers without examples, privacy slips: Lesson 4 (Interviews, Profiles, Essays).
  • Mixing up debit and credit, minimum payments, late bills: Lesson 5 (Banking, Bills and Credit).
  • Unsure about TFSA, RRSP, RESP, GICs or compound interest: Lesson 6 (Saving Options).
  • OSAP facts, payday loan costs, interest calculations: Lesson 7 (Forms of Borrowing).
  • CPP/EI calculations, tax-bracket myths, gross vs net: Lesson 8 (Paycheques and Taxes).
  • Budgets that do not add up or ignore September and January: Lesson 9 (First-Year Budget).
  • Missing scam red flags, unit prices, questions about the requirement: Lesson 10 (Protecting Your Money).

For the financial literacy graduation requirement, also review the Grade 9 math financial literacy unit and use TVO Learn's practice assessments. Figures in this unit (minimum wage, CPP, EI, tax brackets, TFSA limit, OSAP rules, payday loan limits) are 2026 values; check official sources for later years.