Students brought face-to-face with 'reality' of life's expenses

Christian Woods wasn’t even tempted to look at the sunny beaches and cruise opportunities Donovan Travel pictured as part of its display at Toll Gate High School Wednesday morning.

Tempted? Well, maybe tempted, but he wasn’t going to try to fit a vacation into his budget even though the budget was all part of the CU4Reality Financial Education Fair sponsored by Wave Federal Credit Union. This wasn’t for real, even though the fair makes the reality of running a monthly budget an eye opener for students. They’re introduced to such concerns as health care costs, saving for retirement and some costs they may already be bearing like care insurance and cell phone expenses.

And even with all that planning, things could go off the tracks or make for an incredibly good day with a spin on the “wheel of reality.” The wheel gave students a feel for the unexpected such as a costly car repair or the welcome surprise of a gift from a relative.

The morning-long fair opening with comments from State General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. Mayor Scott Avedisian and School Committee vice chairman Eugene Nadeau took students through a monthly budget exercise. Nadeau is a believer in the program, saying it introduces students to what their parents have sheltered them from.

“Families never discuss money with their children. They’re afraid to tell them how much they owe,” said Nadeau in an interview. A banker before he retired, Nadeau said many parents both work to make ends meet and never talk about the sacrifices they make for their kids.

Nadeau is a firm believer in teaching personal finances in high school. That’s just where Laurie Mockler, who teaches personal finances classes at Toll Gate, comes from, too. She has been pushing to make the class a graduation requirement. So far, Mockler said, the district hasn’t found the money to make it happen, but she hasn’t let up.

“They get a little life lesson,” said Wave president Paul Archambault. He feels the fair is importance in helping students the importance of establishing and maintaining good credit. Wave also looks to help out by offering free student check accounts and debit cards. He estimates 100 students have opened Wave accounts.

“We get them started with financing and guide them,” he said. Generally, he’s of the opinion, “that most kids don’t have an idea.”

In preparation to the fair Mockler had her students think about the kind of job they want to do. They then researched the education required to get the job as well as what it pays. Based on what they have found they entered the fair with a preferred occupation, annual salary adjusted to reflect federal and state taxes and FICA Medicare/TDI. They then got to cost out what they can expect to pay for the goods and services they hope to have from participating businesses set up at tables.

Seniors Christian Woods and Eleanor West aren’t the students Nadeau talks about.

Both have jobs and make about $225 a week. They pay for their own phones, cars and food. He is interested in biology and aims to pursue his studies at Rhode Island College. She is interested in dance and choreography and realizes that could be a tough career to pursue financially.

West said the fair made her realize the cost of rent, which was higher than she imagined. Also, she hadn’t thought about laundry and how she gets to use the washer and drier at home. That was a cost she didn’t expect when full on her own.

West thought that maybe half of her classmates rely totally on their parents for financial support and “haven’t really figured it out yet.”

As for adding a vacation into his budget, Christian said, “if I did a vacation I’d be in debt. I’d rather have everything paid off instead of being in debt,” he said.