The Business and Professional Women of Crawfordsville conducted its 30th annual Reality Store on Monday at the Boys & Girls Club of Montgomery County.
Eighth graders from all three county school districts took part in the event. The goal is to give the teens a glimpse of real-life experience as an adult. Every student was assigned a career, marital status and how many children they had before they even made it to the event.
Before the students make any life decisions, they head to two booths: taxes and banking. Their income is based on their careers, their lifestyle is up to them. Students visit several booths for all of the financial decisions they have to make in life, some are required while others are optional.
There is no required order of financial decisions the students can make. This can lead to some bad decisions and consequences for students. Some students visit the entertainment booth before using their income on housing, this puts a student in a financially tough spot and for that there are financial advisors set up in the center of the event.
Financial advisors help the students decide if they should sell their new car and get a used one, or if they need to pick up a second job.
Students also have to spin the “Fickle Finger of Fate” wheel, which either throws them a financial curve ball from things like medical bills or a broken washer, while some find luck like winning the lottery and adding $500 to their income.
