I wish I had this while
raising my own kids.
So, I built it for yours. Financial Life Simulation is a one-person project that turned into a small company, run out of Vancouver, Washington.
Vancouver, WA · 2025
When I went looking for a financial simulation tool to teach my own kids about money, there was nothing on the market that actually worked. So I built one.
I spent fifteen years writing software in the banking industry, then seven years teaching Career & Technical Education at the high-school level. I just retired from teaching, and Financial Life Simulation is what I'm spending my time on now.
I'm not looking to get rich from this — the pricing is set low so as many people can use it as possible, while covering the cost of running it. The point is to give teenagers and young adults a place to make the mistakes in a sim world, instead of making them in their twenties with their real life.
I am the parent of two adult daughters. They are the original reason this tool exists.
Masters in Mechanical Engineering · MBA · Seven years of high-school Career & Technical Education · Fifteen years building software for banks.
Why this, and not a textbook?
A textbook can explain compound interest. A simulation can show you what twenty years of it actually looks like. A textbook can describe what a 7-year car loan costs you. A simulation can let you sign one, live through it, and feel why the math matters.
Real adults will tell you they wish someone had walked them through these tradeoffs before their first job, their first apartment, their first car. That conversation is hard to have in the abstract. The simulation is the conversation made tangible.
Where this is going.
For the 2026–2027 school year, the app goes into real classrooms: four teachers across two high schools in the Battle Ground, Washington school district — where I taught until recently — will be using it with their students. I'll be volunteering in those classrooms myself to watch how it works in practice and to hear directly from students and teachers where things click and where they don't. This Fall I'm also teaching two home-school classes of my own using the app. I'm not building a tool I hope someone else will use; I'm building the tool I use every week.
That hands-on use is the engine for everything that comes next. As real students work through the simulation, the gaps and the confusing spots show themselves quickly — and I fix them. If you're a teacher or student with something you'd like to see added or changed, I genuinely want to hear it; enhancement requests are welcome and they shape where the app goes. Tell me — that's how it grows.
I've wanted to build this for years. Retiring early, paired with what AI now makes possible for a solo developer, finally gave me the time to do it right — and I'm enjoying every part of it. My goal is to give back to the education community and help young people build real financial confidence, for years to come. This was never about making a lot of money: pricing is set to cover the costs of running it — AI usage, computing resources, marketing — plus a little to support my retirement. Nothing more.
App Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information Financial Life Simulation collects when you use the app, and what we do with it. It is written plainly on purpose. It covers your use of the app only; it does not cover any AI model or service used outside of the app.
The public marketing website (financiallifesim.org) is governed by a separate, shorter website privacy policy. The website uses basic Facebook/Meta advertising measurement — the app itself never does.
What we collect
We collect your first name and last name. An email address is optional. We do not collect anything else about you to identify you.
What we do with it
We use your information only to run the app and your class. We never share, sell, rent, or trade your information with anyone, for any purpose.
How long we keep it
We delete all student data at the end of each class. We delete all teacher data six months after the subscription ends.
Student communication
Students cannot communicate with other students on the platform. The app provides no messaging, chat, or other student-to-student contact of any kind.
First and last name, optional email. Never shared or sold. Student data deleted at the end of each class; teacher data deleted six months after the subscription ends. No student-to-student communication.