It’s one thing to provide our youth with good financial education. It’s another thing to put them in a “real life” situation that helps them learn from experience. That’s the idea behind a series of Reality Fairs that have been presented to local high school students by representatives from Bronco Federal Credit Union.
It’s one thing to provide our youth with good financial education. It’s another thing to put them in a “real life” situation that helps them learn from experience. That’s the idea behind a series of Reality Fairs that have been presented to local high school students by representatives from Bronco Federal Credit Union.
During the Reality Fairs, participating students are told they are 25 years old. They are randomly assigned jobs, salaries and children and are given the option to choose whether they want to be married or single. The students are then released in an area filled with a variety of booths that represent real-world situations one might encounter on a monthly basis. Students are allowed to visit as many booths as they like and in any order they like, but only after they have visited the booth that teaches them about taxes and how much the government takes from their assigned salary.
Some booths helped participants learn about the high cost of childcare, owning a home, owning a vehicle, utilities and health insurance. Students could also visit “luxury item” booths where they could get their hair and nails done. For those who were running low on “money,” then could visit the Supplemental Income booth to get a part-time job or the SOS booth where they would receive help in ways to save money or generate additional money by selling things they had purchased previously, like their home or vehicle. Students with extra “income” could also learn the benefit of giving by donating to their favorite charity.
“A lot of high school students may look at something like a $25,000 annual salary as a big chunk of cash,” says Melissa Boyce, Marketing & Business Development Coordinator for Bronco. “When you look at it all at once, that is a lot of money. But when you factor in taxes, expenses, basic necessities and such, then you have to stretch the whole thing out over a year’s time, reality sets in pretty quickly. By attending our Reality Fairs, we hope that students will not only learn the importance of a budget so they don’t get themselves into financial trouble later in life, but also so they understand the importance of a good education and stay in school.”
According to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, nearly a third of all high school seniors use at least one credit card, nearly half use ATM cards and more than three-quarters have a savings or checking account. However, just 20% of high school seniors graduate with any formal instruction in personal finance in school. Fortunately, Virginia has a new mandatory state educational requirement for high schools to implement a course that all graduates will have to complete the course.
Nearly 250 students have been exposed to “reality” in fairs that have been held at King’s Fork High School and Southampton Academy. The Reality Education Program is a financial literacy curriculum being taught to students in the community. If you would like to arrange to have an event held at your school or youth organization, or if you would like to volunteer to work one of the booths at a future event, please call Melissa at 757.569.3767 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
"One of our missions at Bronco Federal Credit Union is to provide financial education to our youth," said Bob Petty, CEO "We hope to be a resource to teachers and work with them to implement these important financial management lessons into the curriculum in our community.
Many thanks to the faculty and staff members at both schools for their assistance in providing Reality Fairs to their students. Special thanks also to volunteers from Target, the American Red Cross and other local businesses who helped man booths and provide valuable information.
