Thanks to the Financial Reality Foundation, Alaska Job Corps Center students got real with all the aspects of personal finance during the Get Real! Financial Reality Fair held on the Center on Thursday, Sept. 28. Students learned how to make budgets, how best to spend, or save, their money, and what could happen if they had a sudden financial emergency.

“I always heard that little things add up when you are making a budget,” said Scott Burch, a Water/Wastewater Treatment student at the Center. “This Fair really showed me that this is true. I found the Fair to be really useful because I learned the importance of having money set aside for unexpected expenses and also that you should take the whole year into consideration when planning your budget.”

When students entered the Fair, which was held in the gym, each student started out by selecting a career and then were handed a form showing their yearly salary in that career, whether they were married, their spouse’s income and whether they had children or not. The form also showed whether they had credit card bills, student loans or other outgoing costs. They then “shopped” at various booths where community volunteers “sold” items in individual categories. Categories included entertainment, housing, communications (such as cell phones, internet and TV/cable packages) and more. Items were offered that varied in levels of expense. As they purchased items and incurred monthly costs, students entered these costs into their form.

At the health care table or at the “Wheel of Reality” booth, students might be randomly told that they were going to have a child, which added a level of cost to their forms. In addition, students who spun the “Wheel of Reality” might be saddled with vehicle mechanical problems, emergencies or other liabilities, or they might suddenly receive an inheritance.

At the end, each student worked with a volunteer financial advisor who would then add and deduct all of their income and expenses. Students then learned whether they were living beyond their means. If they were financially overrun, they had the chance to return to a booth to gain a part-time job or make less expensive choices.

“This really is all about making wise decisions, which is what we teach our students every single day,” said Malyn Smith, Alaska Job Corps Center Director. “Through the Get Real! Financial Reality Fair, Alaska Job Corps provides a direct, hands-on experience so that our students will have the skills to be independent in their lives as well as function as successful members of society.”

A speaker from the Financial Reality Foundation summed it all up in a closing speech, where he polled the students to find out who was spending more than they made, or who was saving money at the end of each month.

“The Fair really has a huge impact on our students because they can speak with someone from outside the Center who has the financial expertise to explain what this means in real life,” said Roger Gossett, Social Development Manager at Alaska Job Corps. “We really value this partnership with the Financial Reality Foundation and the volunteers from the community who staffed the booths. Although our students make budgets and learn about personal finance in their academic classes, it really sinks in when they work with an outside financial expert.”

The event was organized by a team of staff members at Alaska Job Corps and the entire student body participated. The Fair is typically held once a year, and, according to Gossett and Smith, the partnership with the Financial Reality Foundation group is a long-standing one.

The Alaska Job Corps Center is a federally funded career training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and managed by Chugach Educational Services, Inc. The Center is committed to providing the highest quality programs for young adults by offering instructions in academics, trades and life skills through innovative methods that respond to the unique individual and group needs of today’s youth.