Budgets give students a glimpse into future

"I was so poor it was ridiculous," he said. "I had to open my own business."

While J.T.'s life of poverty seemed real to him, it was actually an assignment for the eighth grader at St. Teresa of Avila School in Albany.

Surprise expenses

In addition to these planned expenses, the students received surprise phone calls from their teacher letting them know an unforeseen event needed to be figured into their budget.

These unplanned events ranged from receiving an unexpected inheritance to having to replace a neighbor's window broken by a child's ball.

New respect

Classmate Shawn Wolfgang said, "I respect my mom in a different way. I think twice about asking for money." Alisha Tario said the project helped her see "how spoiled I am."

While the assignment was a learning experience, the young people enjoyed the project because it provided them a glimpse at the future. In Shawn's fictional life, for example, he was a married doctor with three children and a stay-at-home wife. "I liked it," he explained, "because I had more money than I'll ever have and I had fun trying to spend it."

Budgeting

During the four-week project, students were responsible for creating a budget and preparing a percentage table as well as a pie chart. Students also had to write two essays describing how they made the decisions on spending their money and what they learned.

Miss Clement was pleased with the choices the students made. "They said things like `I knew I had to pay my taxes. I knew I had to feed the kids, so I couldn't spend money on clothes.'"

Alisha was surprised by the way expenses add up. "A quarter of my pie graph went to groceries," she said. "And I had to buy a new carpet because my dog ruined it."

Reality check

For J.T., even necessities were expensive. "Health insurance killed me," he said.

Such lessons in money management won't be forgotten any time soon. "I've received good feedback from parents," Miss Clement said. "They say the kids understand what they mean when they say they can't afford sneakers right now."

Shawn has plans for the real-life money he makes. "I'll save it instead of spending it," he said.

J.T. also thinks saving is important. "I opened a bank account after the project was over," he said. "I want to finish high school; I don't want to get my GED. Every school should do this. It's a reality check."

(04-15-99) [[In-content Ad]]