Photo By Amy Perry | Christine Murphy, a financial counselor at Army Community Service Survivor Outreach...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (July 27, 2017) -- Dozens of Fort Lee teens wandered into the world of financial responsibility during a “Reality Store” simulation Friday at the Youth Center.
The 4-H program – coordinated by Child and Youth Services and ACS with support from the Virginia Cooperative Extension office – created a scenario in which participants were given a set amount of income and then required to visit various stations where they paid bills, made grocery and clothing purchases, and shelled out unexpected payments for things like traffic tickets and medical emergencies.
It emphasized “needs” over “wants,” noted Hermon Maclin, VCE 4-H director for Prince George County (he also oversees the 4-H program at the Youth Center). The end goal was to plant the mental seed of saving for the future and anticipating the unexpected.
“The youths were assigned various professions and scenarios, like a teacher or engineer in a single-parent or family-of-four on one income household,” said Maclin. “With their individual situation and a checkbook to pay bills, they were given the opportunity to engage all 20 stations to pay bills or make purchases. A variety of volunteers acted as furniture salesmen, insurance agents, bankers, etc. to accept payments and give advice.”
The Reality Store gives youth a unique look into the financial realities of adulthood, Maclin noted, and he hopes it helped them learn what they need to do in the future.
“There is no need to shield youths from financial hardships; it’s a fact of life they need to know about,” he said. “That’s the goal of this program. It introduces them to the day-to-day financial realities they may face as adults like raising kids, buying a house and other stuff.”
While many of the teens methodically went booth-to-booth making choices based on the scenario they were given, a few quickly became frustrated and returned to the first station – Uncle Sam – to figure out how to squeeze a bit more money from the federal government.
“This has been a wake-up call, especially since I’m about to start college,” said 18-year-old participant Arijah Young. “It’s nerve-racking. I knew there was a lot involved in dealing with finances, but I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been.
“Some of this is different,” she continued, referring to her scenario of a teacher assistant trying to make ends meet with a child and stay-at-home spouse. “In real life, I don’t even have children and I’m broke. This has been a majorly rude awakening for me. “
Young said it made her realize what her parents go through every month. Maclin said, that too, is a good perk of the program.
“I think this gives them more respect for what their parents go through,” he said. “It shows them how hard it is – even if someone is making a lot of money – to juggle all that and pay the bills. At some point, individuals have to pay for their house, clothes, taxes, child care … and it all adds up. It kind of turns a light on and gives them an idea of what adults – and eventually themselves – face every day.”
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2017 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 242746 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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