“I’m $6,000 in debt!” and “I’m broke!” were just a few of the comments Penn Manor High School juniors made this week as they learned practical financial lessons through engaging exercises as part of the REAL Life financial literacy program, sponsored by Junior Achievement of South Central PA.
All 11th graders participated in REAL Life activities October 24 and 25. The games and exercises are designed to help students understand how financial decisions now will impact their lives during high school and into adulthood.
Students participated in Budget Builder, in which they were assigned a unique life situation, including marital status, number of children, education, employment, and income.
They had to determine how much of their income was available to them each month after taxes, insurance, utilities, and car payments, and allocate their money as they completed their budget.
Another activity was “Is the Price Right?” In this competition, students worked in groups to try to guess the prices of common household items.
The 11th graders also competed in REAL Life #Adulting, a game resembling the Game of Life, in which they encountered financial challenges as they moved their pieces around the board.
REAL Life also included a session on job interviewing tips that used giant Jenga pieces containing questions about job interview “do’s and don’ts” and a quiz game about different professions called “Who Am I?”
All of these hands-on activities were led by community volunteers representing a variety of careers, with assistance from Penn Manor teachers and 12th grade students. In all, about 450 students participated in the program.
Penn Manor would like to thank Junior Achievement and the volunteer presenters for making this experience possible for our students.
