Permian students get taste of financial reality

Jan. 29--About 2,000 Permian High School students were given a chance to test their financial literacy at the CU4 Reality Fair by My Community Federal Credit Union on Thursday in the PE Gym on campus.

Credit union Marketing Manager Autumn Blankenship said the fair follows a six-week curriculum on personal finance and budgeting. The fair, which featured 14 to 15 vendors, puts that lesson to the test.

Students pick up a sheet with a profession, salary, how much they will make each month before and after taxes, how much education the job requires, spaces for fixed expenses, varied expenses, discretionary expenses and final calculations. After they pick up their sheet, they walk through various stations where vendors offer such items as homes, insurance, cell phones, electronics, groceries and cars.

Youngsters also had to stop and spin a wheel with various life circumstances and their cost. It could also stop on a gift card.

When they were done, Blankenship said students went to the financial counseling table to figure out whether their budgets held up.

Blankenship added that the credit union provided three essay questions to teachers for use after Thursday. If students completed the questions, they would be entered into a drawing for one of three $500 Visa gift cards.

Krzysztyanka Callejos and Jasmine Campos, both 17-year-old seniors, said the fair showed them how much things cost and what they should be paying for them. They picked careers of graphic design and photography, respectively.

Sophomore Hannah LeBlanc picked being a chef as a career while sophomores Timothy Diaz and Christopher Reddick decided to become lawyers. They said they felt the fair would help them in life.

Spanish teacher Rocio Chacon agreed.

"I think some of them are going to understand their parents a little bit more," Chacon said.

Blankenship said My Community is focused on helping to support financial literacy in the community and schools and the fair is one way to do that.

"This is something we offer any school that's willing to do it," Blankenship said. "It's just our way of giving back to the community."

The curriculum is aimed at teaching students personal finance and budgeting principles and about saving and investment options, Blankenship said. She added that it makes sense for students to start thinking about these things now as some students found their income and expenses didn't add up.

Blankenship also said she noticed that students were choosing professions they might not necessarily go into just because of the large salary they offered.

My Community Chief Financial Officer Mark Williams said his favorite thing about the reality fair is giving students a chance to experience life on paper, so they get to make mistakes that don't impact them in real life.

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