Petersburg High School upperclassmen got a taste of reality at a financial fair on Friday, May 3.
At the beginning of the event, each student chose a profession. Then volunteers assigned them a salary and a family profile – maybe a spouse, maybe kids. Next they visited stations around the high school gym, deciding what kind of car they wanted, and how much money to spend on things like groceries and health insurance. After they chose their health insurance plan they had to draw a card with a “health issue,” and then figure out how much of the bill their insurance would cover. If they had been assigned kids, they might have to add the cost of childcare, or diapers, to their budget.
Volunteers from the community sat at the stations, but they weren’t helping the kids. They were doing their best to recreate the temptations of the real world.
KFSK’s Hannah Flor attended the event. She first talked to volunteer Bill Tremblay, who was selling kids houses and furniture.
The Get Real Financial Reality Fair is part of a national program. Tongass Federal Credit Union sponsored the event and collaborates with school districts around the region to host the fair.
Bill Tremblay is on the KFSK Board of Directors, which does not direct news coverage.
