About DECKER & ASSOCIATES, INC.
DECKER & ASSOCIATES, INC.
A Social Impact Organization
Since 1980, Decker & Associates (D&A) has been a leader in the field of personal finance education. Decker & Associates has counseled hundreds of thousands of employees to empower them to plan their futures and achieve their goals and have published online courses for high school students to chart a course into their future, avoiding costly financial mistakes.
In 2004, two non-profit organizations were launched to help families set goals, develop plans and achieve financial security. Skills For Living focused on adult education and Financial Mentors of America worked with young adults.
In 2007, D&A published its first Real Life print course through Amazon, Ready To Launch, for high school seniors.
In 2012, D&A published a Texas Education Agency approved online course – Real Life Financial Mathematics (RLFM) for high school students. RLFM is a rigorous real-life financial, tax, investment, college, and career planning two-semester higher level math course for students where pre-calc is not a necessary course of study for college prep. It integrates critical thinking, problem-solving assignments, and team discussions, to prepare students for a world environment of thinking and artificial intelligence. It is a CTE course, providing Texas school districts with additional funding to pay for instructional materials.
In 2024, D&A offers Personal Financial Literacy & Economics for Real Life. This one-semester, online course, meets 100% of the knowledge & skill requirements for Texas high school graduation. Because teachers value quality materials for teaching a critical thinking, problem-solving, rigorous real life course, D&A also offers Professional Development for Personal Financial Literacy & Economics for Educators.
Shared Principles of All Real Life Courses:
- All students need goals and long-term personal, financial, academic and career plans to optimize their future. This is a foundation principle upon which financial and economic education should be built.
- Young adults should then modify their goals and plans as they gain a deeper understanding of finances, insurance, taxes, investing, career readiness and funding post-secondary education. A course should be engaging, rigorous, relevant, challenging, thought-provoking, and demand that students take responsibility for their actions today and in the future.
- Information acquired through memorization in high school or college is rarely retained as an adult. Thinking, understanding, questioning and becoming financially secure are foundations of democracy. Remove any of the above and the results are not what anyone wants to experience.