BALTIMORE — Getting a mortgage, paying the light bill, shopping for groceries. Learning about money and how to use it wisely.
These seventh-grade Baltimore County students got a taste of the real world, thanks to Junior Achievement’s Finance Park in Lansdowne. The students have been studying financial literacy in the classroom and now, here, they get to put it into practice.
Guided by prompts on a tablet, each student is given a career, like line technician at the electric company, and a salary commensurate with that job. It’s up to them to spend and save from there.
“I learned about financial credit and how to make a budget and how not to spend all your money at once,” says student Andy Osorio.
On this day, volunteers from University of Maryland Global Campus like Shaun Johnson guide students from Deer Park Middle School through the tasks.
“She’s shopping at Wegmans,” Shaun Johnson, UMGC volunteer, says to his group.
“They’re learning more about investments, about mortgages, savings, things like that, so it’s really cool,” he says.
Each station presents everyday needs, like paying a utility bill and buying car insurance. Or challenges, like car repairs or medical bills.
Students we talked to say the most eye-opening part was taxes.
“I didn’t know the amount of taxes and different insurances we had to pay,” says Raquel Maeda. “For example, there’s car, there’s house, there’s child. There’s a lot.”
And after a day of living like a grown-up, these students say they’ll take it a little easy on mom and dad from now on.
“Now I know how much my parents put into more than what I ask for,” Raquel says. “So, knowing that now, I feel more grateful and like I should ask for less things.”
A valuable lesson for now and in the future.
