BAHS Seniors participated in a Financial Reality Fair to help students gain real-world , hands-on budgeting experience.
At the event, students are assigned a salary based on a career path and level of education. They then visit stations that represent financial responsibilities and expenses they’ll face after graduation. These stations range from housing and transportation to student loans to pets and charitable donations.
At each station, they’re presented with choices related to each expense – do they want to live in an apartment on their own or will they move back in with family to save money? Will they cook most of their meals at home or will they dine out often?
As students complete the stations, they follow up with their homeroom teachers about the choices they’ve made. Together, they crunch the numbers and determine if they were over, under, or right on track for their budget and talk about strategies for balancing their budget better.