Bronco has always been strongly committed to providing financial education to the young people in our communities—members and non-members alike. In this article we’d like to introduce you to one of our most effective and eye-opening programs. We call it a Financial Reality Fair. It’s been designed primarily for high school-aged kids to give them the unique experience (if only for a few hours) of what it’s like to live in and budget for “the real world.”
At the start of each Reality Fair, participants are handed a randomly selected piece of paper boldly titled, “This Is Your Life,” which lists their career, marital status, gross and net annual salary (including notes of how much they are paying in state/federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare) net monthly income, the number of kids they have and whether they went to college or not.
After receiving instructions from the moderators leading the event—featuring a lesson on the importance of “paying yourself first”—students are directed to a series of booths operated by volunteers. Using their net monthly income figure, they start making choices about how much to spend on housing, meals, transportation, health and auto insurance, clothing, vacations and entertainment, pets, paying back student loans (if applicable) and putting money into a savings vehicle. If students find they are getting low on funds after making the most crucial “purchase” decisions, they can opt to supplement their income with a part-time job or even take a chance on the lottery.
As we said earlier, it is quite an eye-opening experience for these kids. As they visit each of the booths, they take a worksheet with them that acts as a balance sheet for expenses. They are given a variety of options to choose from and often must make tough decisions to stay within budget. For example, after arranging for their food, clothing and shelter, many participants visiting the “Transportation” booth had to abandon their initial choice of a sleek, sporty convertible and settled instead for an economical entry-level sedan. Some even discovered that public transportation was the only realistic option for them based on what they could afford to spend in this category.
The Fairs are a terrific experience for the volunteers as well. Although students are encouraged to make their own decisions, volunteers are asked to help educate the kids visiting their booths by explaining the impact of their choices. For instance, at the “Housing” booth, participants with three children were discouraged from choosing to rent a one-bedroom apartment simply because it was the cheapest option.
In 2010 over 1,200 students in four different communities participated in Bronco’s Financial Reality Fairs. How successful has the program been? Kings Fork High School in Suffolk has made our Financial Reality Fair a mandatory part of incoming freshmen orientation. And Southampton Academy offered the Fair to its entire graduating class of 2010.
At Bronco, we have always held the strong belief that Financial Realty Fairs and our other financial education programs are invaluable tools that young people can utilize to help themselves avoid financial pitfalls early on. With knowledge and the confidence to succeed, these kids can start planning a strong financial future by establishing good financial habits now.
We will be delighted to organize and conduct a Financial Reality Fair at any of the schools or applicable non-profit organizations in our serving areas. There is no fee to participate as each Fair is operated by our own Bronco team members and through the generous support of a host of parents, volunteers and area businesses.
If your school or organization would like to organize a Financial Reality Fair or if you or your organization would like to volunteer a few hours of your time to operate a booth at a future Fair, contact Melissa Boyce at 757.569.3767 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
