“Save money!”
This was the mantra exclaimed by 4th graders from Oakridge Elementary School today after completing the Kids Marketplace financial simulation. Each student was assigned an occupation at random with a certain monthly income (it differed from student to student), and they were required to visit all 10 stations to spend their money on expenses, including housing, transportation, saving, animal care, fun, charitable contributions, groceries, clothing, personal care/medical insurance, and chance, where the unexpected can strike. Approximately 60 students engaged in the event this morning.
Some of the feedback after the class was very thoughtful:
– “You can’t always just buy the stuff you want”
– “Get a house or car before fun”
– “You can get poor really, really fast”
– “The money you can spend is based on your income”
– “Even if your friends are buying it, you should look at how much you spend”
– “It helps to have a roommate when buying a house”
The students learned a lot about financial decision-making with a constrained income, but they also had a lot of fun. (One girl asked that we “please pleeeease come back next year.”) Thank you to Joan, Gail, Jack, Geri, Elizabeth, and Donna, as well as the staff from Oakridge and our Arlington County VCE office who helped make this event possible!
To view more photos, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VceFinancialEducationProgramArlingtonCounty
Another thing I’ve really noticed is for many people, low credit score is the reaction of circumstances beyond their control.
By way of example they may are already saddled with an illness and because of this they have more
bills for collections. Maybe it’s due to a occupation loss or the inability to go to work.
Sometimes divorce or separation can send the financial situation in the wrong direction.