This guide is designed to help junior and senior high school students acquire basic competencies in daily living. In addition to identifying 13 competencies, the guide explains how students can obtain certification in those skills by members of the community whose jobs require them to be proficient in them. The competencies include transacting business on credit, maintaining a checking account, filing state and federal taxes, budgeting time and money effectively, maintaining good physical health, making effective use of leisure time, responding to fire and health emergencies, participating in the electoral process, understanding basic structure and function of local government, explaining personal legal rights, and operating and maintaining an automobile. On their own students must locate the materials needed to complete each competency, make appointments with certifiers, successfully complete the requirements of the competency, and obtain signatures of certifiers. The guide concludes with a resource list for locating materials needed to complete each competency, a sample chart for scheduling completion of each competency, a blank schedule, and a sheet for signatures of certifiers. (AV)