Adulthood 101: PHS freshmen learn about income, bills and more at finance program

Students were assigned a random life profile, including a designated career with annual income broken down to monthly net income. They were informed if they were married or divorced, if they have student loans, if they have children and if those children were living with them, or if they had to pay child support. They were given a credit score and then, based on their monthly net income, students were then left to manage their finances.

Throughout the gymnasium, tables were set up beside signs marking things such as banking, housing, transportation, insurance, health care, utilities, communication services (internet, cellphone), transportation, groceries, entertainment and child care. Volunteers from the community managed the booths. They shared cost options with students and made recommendations, but students ultimately had to make their own choices.

Students were also given the opportunity to save money and give to charity. In addition, there was the chance table, where students rolled the dice to learn of some random happenings in their life, lending to those unexpected things that inevitably come people’s way, such as accidents.

“They could receive a tax refund and get money or they could end up with a flat tire that costs them $60,” Barr-Miller said.

Students were required to visit all the tables, based on their profile.

“It’s a cool experience. It’s hard,” Skylynn Duncan said of trying to pay her bills.

Asked what she imagine it was like for parents each month trying to pay the bills, Alexis Robertson said, “Painful.”

Some students, such as Summer Gamblian, said they wished the program was more personalized to their true career plans to give them a better impression of how things would really be in future. Gamblian said her plans entail becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist, so her imaginary low paying job was not even close to comparable.

Barr-Miller said she wishes there was an opportunity to do both scenarios with students, but she said she believes the types of careers presented are good for students to experience to give them insight into what people in those professions face. As well, life has twists and turns and doesn’t always take people in the direction they plan.

“It’s good for them because no one is going to choose something hard to go through that,” Barr-Miller said of the career profiles.

At the end of their experiences, students were asked to fill out a questionnaire. Asked what most surprised them, the majority of students focused on their shock at the cost of child care, with some saying they were never having children, or at least would avoid having children at a young age.

“It’s eye-opening,” Barr-Miller said. “I actually used to volunteer for this. I loved it. It was one of my favorite days. I’m so excited to get it back going again because it has been a few years since we did it.”