LOWELL Over 400 Lowell High School seniors got quite the reality check at Jeanne DArc Credit Unions sixth annual MoneyStrong for Life Fair, held Tuesday, March 29
th at the Tsongas Center. During the event, students role played themselves at age 25 and were tasked with managing their income, savings, credit cards and the high cost of self-supporting.
Students chose their desired profession and were assigned the realistic income along with credit card debt, a savings account and student loan debt. Aspiring policemen and women, veterinarians, writers, choreographers, medical assistants, engineers and more moved from booth to booth making spending decisions on life essentials while managing a budget based on their monthly income.
At each of the 13 booths, students had to make choices such as what kind of apartment they would live in, whether or not to have roommates, to purchase a car or opt for a bus pass, and which insurance plan was best while weighing the delicate balance of needs vs. wants.
"This is definitely going to be useful to me because its going to teach me the importance of spending money wisely," said Brianne, one of the student participants.
"Im glad we have this because my mom never taught me this stuff. I need this," said Alyssa.
Students were tempted by high-cost items at the "Luxury" booth and some were also presented with unexpected scenarios at the "Reality Check" booth. There were students who lost their job, had babies or received an unanticipated bonus at work. They then had to determine how to cope with these scenarios based on the cash and credit available to them.
Alexandra, 18, was one of the students who got a reality check when she had a baby. "This will definitely make things harder for me as I go through because its an extra $200 a month and thats a lot with everything else," she said.
As the final step, students were required to visit the "Counseling" booth where they discovered whether they were living within their budgets. Many had to make changes to their lifestyles when it was revealed they were spending far more money than they were earning.
A total of 77 people, the majority of which were employees from Jeanne DArc Credit Union, volunteered to assist students in their decision-making processes. Jeanne DArc Credit Union underwrote the cost of the event, including lunch for students and volunteers.
"The MoneyStrong for Life Fair fits in perfectly with our mission of helping people make smart financial choices," said Mark S. Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jeanne DArc Credit Union. "It is crucial for students to learn the skills necessary to navigate the twists and turns of lifes financial waters. We were pleased to provide them with an innovative and interesting way of gaining some real-life financial experience."
Photo: Lowell High School seniors got a dose of reality at Jeanne DArc Credit Unions sixth annual MoneyStrong For Life Fair.
About Jeanne DArc Credit Union:
Jeanne DArc Credit Union was established in 1912 and is a full-service, member-owned community-based financial cooperative with more than 70,000 members and $1.1 billion in assets. It operates seven full-service branches in Lowell, Dracut (2), Tyngsboro, Chelmsford, Methuen and Westford, Massachusetts; high-school branches at Lowell High and Dracut High schools; a loan center in Lowell; and mortgage centers in Chelmsford and North Reading.
