Cordova High students recently had the opportunity to participate in a financial “Reality Fair” sponsored by SAFE Credit Union. The Fair provides students a taste of real life financial responsibilities such as learning to manage a household budget in a fun, interactive, and no-risk atmosphere, according Daniel Thigpen, Director of Communication and Community Engagement for the Folsom Cordova Unified School District.

“It was a success and educational" said math teacher Cameron Parker. “Students learned that it is expensive out there.”

The National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) promotes such programs through credit unions across the country, referring to them as Interactive Teen Financial Literacy Tools. Participating students get a realistic look at the costs and decisions they will face out in the real world.

“It’s like a giant version of the board game ‘Life,’” said Thigpen. “Students are given an imaginary occupation, salary, and family profile and then tasked to rent or buy a home, buy a car, pay for groceries and deal with unexpected circumstances, such as a flat tire, or a job lay-off, or a surprise bonus. What they learn is more than just balancing a budget. It gets them thinking about the kind of job or career they might want to pursue.”

Once students choose a career, they find out about starting salaries, they create budgets which mandate living within their means. The balanced budgets must account for life’s differing wants and needs such as housing, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, travel and entertainment.

Throughout the fair, there are many temptations for additional spending, and students must learn to balance their wants and needs to live on their own. After the students have visited the various booths covering components of independent living, students balance their budget, and then sit down with a financial counselor for review, according to the NCUF website.

“We are grateful for the generosity of our business partners like SAFE Credit Union for providing enriching, real-world lessons that will last a lifetime. It’s important for our youth to gain the life skills necessary to succeed independently in today’s world, and SAFE has created a fun, engaging – and realistic – way to make an impact on students before they enter the workforce,” said Thigpen.

According to the NCUF, currently 26 states are offering Reality Fair Programs and in 2015, an estimated 67,465 high school students participated in a Reality Fair.

SAFE Credit Union began in 1940 to provide services for the Sacramento Air Depot employees, eventually becoming the Sacramento Air Force Employees Federal Union (SAFE). It merged with McClellan Federal Credit Union in 1996, and then later with Capital Power Credit Union and American River HealthPro Credit Union. SAFE opened its 21st branch in Rancho Cordova over five years ago.