Game of Life: Teens learn financial literacy
There is one important lesson that I wish I had learned in school, but instead, I learned it the hard way.
The lesson came after racking up about $5,000 in debt after receiving my first credit card after high school graduation. I remember the excitement of making a purchase with a simple swipe, and the ease of making a minimum payment each month. Unfortunately, I never read the fine print explaining how interest actually works.
The Chamber of Commerce in my community is working to make sure students in this generation don’t make the same mistake. The Wake Forest Area Chamber Foundation has created the Financial Literacy Fair. Think of it as an insightful, interactive”Game of Life.”
I experienced the Financial Literacy Fair first-hand at Wake Forest Middle School recently.
Here’s how it works:
The students (all 8th graders) receive a sheet of paper with a persona that includes a career, annual salary, family status, education level and credit score.
Armed with their forms, the students travel to different stations and must make important life choices. They must decide what type of house they will buy and what type of car they will drive based on their designated income. They also must purchase groceries, pay for utilities, phone service and insurance. There is even a station for entertainment, if the students have money left.
Volunteers who act as money managers meet with the students to talk about their budgets. Some of the kids are given salaries below poverty level, and they must make difficult choices to survive. In some cases they can get a second job or a roommate.
The students I spoke to said the exercise helped teach them the difference between “need verses want."
I wish someone would have taught me that lesson before I went crazy with my credit card as a young adult.
The Wake Forest Chamber Foundation offers to the program to area middle and high schools. Executive Director of the Wake Forest Area Chamber Foundation Corey Hutcherson said they plan to offer it to other organizations that serve the youth in our area with the ultimate goal of launching the program nationally.
