Valley Job Corps students learn to spend PFD wisely

PALMER — Teachers at the Alaska Job Corps Center converted the more than $250,000 windfall the school’s 250 students received in the form of Permanent Fund Dividend payments into a teachable moment Wednesday.

Leadership Coordinator Roger Gossett greeted groups of students as they entered the cafeteria and explained the PFD spending exercise.

As they entered, students were given paper “PFD Debit” cards with 1,200 credit listed in $50 increments. Inside the cafeteria vendors waited to help students spend, save, invest or donate money to charity.

“Think about how am I going to use $1,200,” Gossett said.

Each time students selected an item to purchase, the merchant crossed off the amount on their debit card and gave them a picture of their purchase.

“Why do we have to spend it all?” one young woman asked Gossett. “Why can’t we just put it into savings?”

“Use it how you truthfully would,” Gossett replied. “It’s practice.”

Inside, savings and investing were common themes, according to Heather Lindquist and LuAnne Cross, who operated the bank and investment booths.

“Lots of people come in and just deposit it all,” Lindquist said.

Travis Grella, 20, walked up just then and asked to deposit the entire $1,200 with Lindquist’s bank.

“I have everything I need,” he said. “It’s what I plan to do anyway.”

Students could also buy things like electronics, trips, transportation, clothing or recreational items.

Gossett said this is the third year the school has used the annual dividend payment to Alaskans as a teaching tool.

“The year the $3,000 dividends came out we saw that there was a huge need to realize even that amount doesn’t go very far,” he said.

After students finished the exercise in the cafeteria, they were instructed to take their receipts with them to their Career Success Standards Training class that evening.

The goal is to help students understand that their PFD is a crucial cash component of their transition from Job Corps into independent adult lives, Gossett said.

“Transition money plus PFD is a big help in getting a place to live, or transportation, or tools, or work clothes, or food, etc.,” he said,

Ana Belisle, 18, chose to invest $1,000 of her PFD money with Cross’ investment firm. She said other vendors tried to sell her a new bicycle or a laptop, but she resisted these impulse purchases.

Belisle gave the remaining $200 as a donation to the adoption society, “’Cause I’m adopted.”

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.