REAL Life, a financial literacy and career-readiness forum, is a day-long program held at a high school. Half the day consists of a budgeting activity intended to help students gain an appreciation for the importance that financial decisions will play in their lives as young adults. The other half of the day is focused on career readiness issues, including interview skills and resume writing tips.
REAL Life Activities
Budget Builder
The power of Budget Builder is the discovery that takes place as students deal with some truly challenging life scenarios. The simulation is intended to be focused on financial literacy with hard hitting, in your face, tough financial decisions that have to be made on the fly.
Unlike other financial literacy programs, Budget Builder is focused on the new realities. It’s a life
changing experience that will leave participants aware of (1) the choices they make influence their lives for years to come (2) the importance of savings, and (3) the key core concepts involved in financial decision making.
In Budget Builder, each student is assigned their unique “life situation” which details their adult persona, including marital status, number of children (if any), education, employment, and income.
For example, the life scenario might classify a student as a single mother with two kids, junior college education, and a sales associate job receiving an income of $40,000 per year. Students then determine how much of their income is available to them each month after taxes, and they allocate their money as they complete their budget.
This life-like simulation immerses the student in fast paced, hands-on learning where they are faced with difficult real world decisions. In 2 hours, Budget Builder provides a number of reflection points. Each of these teachable moments allow our financial volunteers to offer advice and options to students as they build their financial budget.
Who Am I?
Students learn about different careers by playing an engaging game that uncovers careers they may not have thought about.
Interviewing Tips
Two teams play against one another in a game of Jenga. Large-size Jenga blocks have questions on them pertaining to interviewing do's and don'ts. The students work together with their team to answer questions about things to DO and things NOT to do in an interview. All the while, compiling an important list to help them land that future job! The team with the tallest Jenga tower wins!
REAL Life #Adulting
There are many things a young adult should know before going out into the real world. In this module, teams of student’s will participate in fun activities in order to gain knowledge and skills necessary for successful independent living.
Is The Price Right?
The goal of this activity is to help enlighten students on the cost of every day items in a fun and engaging way through various activities played similarly to The Price is Right. Students work in teams as volunteers lead them through a variety of activities to help them understand the cost of commonly purchased household items.
For more information about our Real Life Program, contact Heidi Potter, SVP at hpotter@jascpa.org or 717-843-8028.