SHINNSTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — For the first time, the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office visited Harrison County Schools with their “Get a Life” personal finance simulation in order to give kids an early taste of adult life.
In “Get a Life,” students are assigned a life situation like a job with a certain salary along with maybe a spouse and a kid. They then keep track of their finances, figuring out how to pay each month’s rent, insurance, utilities, groceries and doctor bills.
On Tuesday, students at Lincoln Middle School went around the gymnasium buying what they needed to live. Each of the booths was manned by a community volunteer who works in the industry they represent.
The students were then forced to make decisions like “Do I rent an apartment close to my work to save gas?” or “How many rooms do I need for a house?”
In other words, they tried to be their parents for a day.
“I was working at the insurance table, and I had a student saying, ‘My insurance is paid! My insurance is paid!’ I told them you have no idea how many parents have said the same exact thing,” County Liaison Specialist for Career Tech Ed Programs at Harrison County Schools Dr. Geralidne Beckett said.
Other lessons were meant to invoke the stress of adulthood.
“I think they just want to say ‘I did a great job and I learned something’ or ‘this is also really hard, and this is stressful.’ I’ve heard a lot of students say ‘It was stressful paying my bills and making my money stretch for the whole month,’” Financial Education Specialist for the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office Beth Roberts said.
Eighth-grade student Jacob Holt gave his advice recommending that people shouldn’t “blow your money on everything” and to spend wisely.
Along with getting a taste of the stress of adulthood, students said that the simulation also gave them confidence for the future.
