FAIRFAX, Va. - Adults often say high school kids need a dose of reality when it comes to their finances, and Apple FCU here is giving them one–or, in this case, a store full.
The credit union has been sponsoring the Apple Federal Credit Union’s Reality Store as a means of teaching financial literacy.
“Apple’s Reality Store is, in effect, a reality check for most students,” the credit union said. “Workshops are designed to give students a ‘real world’ life profile and a series of related budgeting exercises. Each student is provided with a marital status, family size, yearly salary and more. Given these budgeting cornerstones, students must then make decisions, like whether to rent or buy a home, purchase a car or take public transportation and even the affordability of cable service.”
According to AFCU, the “two biggest realizations” for students at Herndon High School who participated in the Reality Store were taxes and the conflict between what one wants versus what one can afford. “After crunching the numbers with their Apple-provided calculators and pencils, many students were surprised to learn a $40,000 a year salary does not allow for a large home, luxury car and lavish yearly vacations,” AFCU said.
The Reality Store program is part of Apple’s Student-Run CU initiative. Student participants are provided with increased opportunities, real world financial literacy, fiscal education, employment options, etc.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
