The Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce Reality Check event at Sask Polytech showed Grade 9 students from across the city the often-tough realities of making budget decisions, hopefully preparing them for wise choices later on.
The chamber’s annual Reality Check is becoming a popular tradition. Many of the community volunteers who make the event possible said they wish they’d had a similar financial literacy education before becoming independent adults.
“I think the kids are really getting an eye-opening experience as to how the real world works,” said Andrea Klassen, one of the volunteers. Klassen was at the housing station, offering kids choices ranging from low-rent apartments to high-mortgage homes.
“The kids come to us and they choose an option, whether to rent or to own depending on (the finances assigned to for the event),” Klassen explained. “I’m actually surprised, most of them are choosing to rent the cheapest option, no matter if they’re making $6,000 or $2,000 a month.”
Chamber organizers Heather Bergdahl and Rob Clark were busily answering questions station-to-station in the Sask Polytech auditorium. It was a job fair-like atmosphere, and indeed Sask Polytech had booths at one end with teachers from programs such as civil engineering and business/commerce.
The chamber recruited volunteers from local businesses for the event. Part of the goal of Reality Check is to encourage networking with potential employers in the community. Students also learned that local businesspeople are happy to answer questions and offer assistance as they consider their post-graduation plans.
“You can definitely tell the kids who have had some financial education at home,” said Jackie L’Heureux-Mason, volunteering at the financial services table. L’Heureux-Mason is the executive director of Tourism Moose Jaw and an ex officio member of the board of the Downtown Moose Jaw Association (DMJA).
“But, oh my goodness, there are definitely some kids here who have absolutely no idea how fast that money goes every month,” L’Heureux-Mason added. She said the contrast between the two groups was relatively stark.
“That’s how I’m seeing it for sure. … The ones we’ve seen are basically either completely lost, or they have at least a little information.”
Students also learned that having a bit left over after all the bills are paid doesn’t mean finding something else to spend on — it is possible to save, too.
Emerson Krauss, a Peacock Collegiate student, was having a good time. His mother works in finance, he said, so he had somewhat of an idea of how to budget.
He said some of his classmates were getting wake-up calls, though.
“I’m pretty sure they are, sort of learning just how much things can cost,” he laughed.
“This is awesome, really beneficial for the kids. This idea of money management is pretty foreign to them,” said Tianna Adams, a Grade 9 student support teacher at Central Collegiate. “This would have been really nice when I was in high school. We didn’t spend a lot of time on financial literacy. Kind of had to make it or break it once I was off to university.”
Adams added that most of her students did well and were pleased with where they ended up.
“Some of them were in the hole and couldn’t imagine what that might be like… Good experience for them.”
