“What happens when you don’t have dental insurance?” “Are stocks short-term investments or long-term investments?”
The students clearly understood the possible unsavory repercussions of going without dental insurance, and they all knew that stocks are usually long-term investments.
After spending hours in the classroom learning how to create a budget, the students put their knowledge to use in “Finance Park” Thursday, Dec. 19. The park was a simulated environment put together by Junior Achievement at the Washington County Fair Complex in Hillsboro.
Students were given new identities for the simulation, complete with fake ages, kids, spouses and annual gross incomes. Using their gross income, they each calculated their individual net monthly income.
Armed with a special interactive app on tablet computers, the students bought groceries at a Fred Meyer kiosk, enrolled their kids in childcare, applied for a mortgage and more. Meanwhile, the app kept track of their expenditures, subtracting them from each student’s net monthly income.
Those who overdrew their bank accounts had to backtrack and decide which item – or items – to spend less on.
Eighth-grader Max Bernsohn, 14, just barely lived within his budget: $44 of his income remained after monthly expenses, he said (his annual gross income was $89,000).
Bersohn, a single dad with two kids in the simulation, said the activity helped him understand how quickly a large paycheck can disappear after bills are paid.
“Everything costs more than I expected,” he said.
He was especially surprised that his monthly grocery bill surpassed his car payment for his sports car. He now has more respect for his parents, he said.
“I cost a lot,” he mused.
-- Anna Marum