Pottsgrove juniors get a slice of real world economics.
Financial Reality Fair comes to high school for the first time
Parents, how many times have you looked at your teenager with their hand out and thought to yourself “wait until you get out into the real world, you’ll see how hard money is to come by.”
Well, if your teen is a junior at Pottsgrove High School, the waiting is over.
Thanks to Diamond and Tri-County credit unions, the first-ever Financial Reality Fair was held in the high school gymnasium Wednesday and it provided a taste of what awaits graduates.
“We wanted them to have a real life-like experience,” said Andrea Sawchuck, manager of Diamond Credit Union’s Pottstown branch.
“So they come in, choose an education level, and then get a salary associated with that and then they have to make choices about required things like where they live, transportation, clothes, furniture, and they can even have some options like hair and nails or entertainment,” she said.
“And they all have to visit the ‘wheel of reality’ for those unexpected bumps in the road,” said Myra Fick, marketing director for TriCounty Credit union, who helped organize the event.
At the “wheel,” manned by Brad Bartman from Wrigley’s Business Products in Boyertown, a sponsor, a spin of the wheel can result in anything from a windfall of $100 for winning a contest, to a car repair.
When Pottsgrove senior Jimmy Frost spun the wheel, he lost $100 when the pointed landed on “drop your phone.” He tried again and hit car repair, another $250 from his bottom line.
“Now I’m at negative $350,” said Frost. He said he was most surprised at “how expensive things are and how it adds up and how fast it adds up.”
Frosty added that he “definitely” appreciates his parents a little more as a result of the experience.
Junior Paul Gerhart chose a bachelor’s degree and had a weekly budget of $2,659 to work with.
“I’m trying to figure out if I can afford a house,” said Gerhart, who had one virtual child to support as well.
“I’m surprised at how much everything is, the furniture, the utilities, the insurance,” said Gerhart, who added he had no money left over in his budget for “entertainment.”
“That’s one of the big ones I’ve been hearing about today,” said Pottsgrove business teacher Megan DeLena.
“Kids say they’re saving $20 for entertainment and I tell them ‘well that’s a movie and McDonald’s, if you go to the matinee and you don’t have a date,’” she said with a laugh.
“We thought it would be a good idea to give the juniors a taste of personal finances,” DeLena said. “We offer it here, but its not mandated, so really only a small number of students are exposed to it.”
Fick said about 375 Pottsgrove students would get educated in the fair Wednesday.
“We thought it would be a good idea to give the juniors a taste of personal finances.” Megan DeLena, Pottsgrove High School business teacher