Reality Fair

Tuesday, June 4 from 9:15 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: PAS Gym (use the main entrance and check in at the office)

This fair is a hands-on financial education event for middle school students to learn about careers, salaries, budgets, and savings for independent living.

VOLUNTEER:

Many parent volunteers are needed to monitor a station for each component of the fair e.g. housing, transportation, insurance, food, clothing, entertainment, and utilities while students complete their budget worksheet. No experience necessary!

Click HERE for a video to learn more about volunteering at the fair. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.  

VOLUNTEER HERE

SCHEDULE:

9:15 AM: Continental Breakfast

9:30 AM: Orientation

10 AM: Group 1

11 AM: Group 2

12 PM: Lunch

DETAILS:

Financial Reality Fair is a trademark financial education event coordinated by CrossState Credit Union Foundation.

Reality Fair is designed to address the need of financial education and personal money management for
students. This event teaches our youth important practices of spending money responsibly that will
lead to a future of strong financial wealth.

This hands-on experience provides students a budget sheet with a career, annual income that displays
monthly gross salary, taxes and benefits deductions, and finally a net take-home monthly salary that will
be used for the activities. The scenario for the students is as follow: they just graduated from
secondary education and obtained their first professional job; the goal is to establish independent living
by paying for expenses using their monthly salary.

Reality Fair is typically held in the gymnasium with tables set up in a rectangular pattern around the
perimeter of the gym. Each table provides a real-life expense required to maintain a lifestyle that fits
within their monthly budget.

Students must visit every table and make a selection from several tiers of living expenses ranging from
moderate to extravagant choices. Each table is manned by volunteers who explain the choices for that
expense for students to choose from. The following are some examples of the expenses in the activity:
Housing
Transportation
Food
Clothing
Entertainment
Utilities

GOAL:

Other than budgeting, another purpose of this event is to educate students on the value of saving.
Therefore, all students must input a savings amount in their budgets to create a foundation of good
financial habits.