Facing the adult numbers game

WASILLA — A group of Valley businesses and a handful of volunteers set up shop at the Mat-Su Central School auditorium Friday to provide interested high school students a taste of what's to come in life after leaving the sanctuary of high school, and any post-secondary school if they choose.

The "Get REAL" financial reality fair, provided by the nonprofit Financial Reality Foundation in the Valley, is a project designed to teach financial literacy to high school juniors and seniors. About two dozen area businesses — everything from banking to real estate to insurance entities — along with volunteers who provided "real life" information on other aspects of adult life such as raising children and allotting time and funds for entertainment and vacations, spent Friday morning educating students.

The fair is a fun, hands-on way for students and young adults to learn about managing personal finances. The two-hour session was intended to expose participants to "real life" scenarios they will most likely experience after graduation. Sponsored through the Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, business representatives assisted students in making decisions about everyday expenses and provided financial advice to help them keep a budget. Students discovered there's more to buying a house than just taking out a loan. Want to know the salary of a mortician? The fair had that covered too.

Participating students got a feel for real-life budgeting, approaching the fair as if they had graduated from college, and have nothing – no car, no residence, no cell phone, etc. At the start of the fair, they were provided with a budget worksheet that included a fictitious future life scenario and a monthly salary of a position in the career of their choice; some had a spouse that contributed to their income, some had children and other obligations such as student loans and credit card debt.

They worked through the budget worksheet line by line according to their vision of their future life, stopping by tables to purchase an apartment or home, a vehicle, cell phone plan, utilities, insurance, groceries, personal needs/hair care, fitness, clothing, fun activities, incidentals and savings.

Like life itself, along the way there were many temptations for additional spending, and students learned to balance their wants and needs to stay within their income. In addition, they considered their credit score for better purchasing power. The last table was the “Wheel of Reality” where a random life event, such as having a baby, is applied to the budget worksheet.

The students ’goal was to stay within budget and still have money left in their pockets after paying all their bills for the month. Once expenses were budgeted, participants met with a financial adviser to review and adjust the figures. An important feature of a financially responsible lifestyle is savings.

The fair is held at high schools throughout the Valley and throughout the school year. "Get Real" is just one program offered by the Reality Financial Foundation. It also puts on a entrepreneur and money management program. The entrepreneur program provides students an opportunity to manage a business, create a plan for success and learn a solid foundation for successful operation. Area financial experts volunteer their time and services to teach students how to control debt, build a budget and plan their futures in the foundation's money management program.

Contact reporter Chris Ford at 352-2270 or chris.ford@frontiersman.com