On Thursday Dr. Mosher's high school geometry students were introduced to real-world budgeting, life skills, and financial literacy at a Financial Reality Fair presented by Honor Credit Union.
Before the event, students had selected a personal career from a list of 40+ possibilities. At the event on Thursday, they logged into an app and, based on their career choice, learned how much money they would have available each month to spend. Students then had to make spending decisions about housing, transportation, clothing, food, leisure, furniture, technology, charity, and more. They learned, for example, that they would have to spend more of their resources on high-speed internet than on a basic plan, or that their budget could determine what kind of car they would be able to own, if any. Each student's goal was to get to the end of the month without running out of money.
A twist was added when the "Fickle-Finger-of Fate" hit, resulting in a costly unexpected expense or a surprising windfall.
Many thanks to the folks from Honor Credit Union for providing this fun and educational activity for our students, and to the staff from Kalamazoo RESA who came to help run the event.
