First Family Federal Credit Union is trying to get middle and high school students to see how their finances impact their lives through “Budget or Bust.”
The free program is going to be held July 19 and 20 at The Briefcase in Henryetta. Students must register by July 12 to participate. The July 10 session will start at 9 a.m. for middle school students and 1 to 3 p.m. for high school. On July 20, the high school students will start at 9 and the middle school students at 1 p.m. Program coordinator Ashley Morris said In high school, teenagers are given a random job complete with a monthly salary with a budget sheet. The student visits several tables that cover expenses including insurance, housing and more. They will write down the totals they need then see how those numbers relate to their budget and see if they need a part time job to compensate.
Once the students see the issues, FFFCU staff members will go over the importance of credit history, savings and even car buying.
Middle school students get a vacation plan and receive “money” to use to pay for that vacation. That money includes travel, food and activities.
“After they finish, we will talk with them about how important it is to save and plan for their future,” Morris said.
“We try to make these classes as interactive and close to reality as possible. We don’t feel like they are getting ALL the tools they need to succeed with real life occurrences,” She added.
This is the second year First Family has offered the program. The first was in 2018 then was repeated in 2019. Due to the coronavirus, the program was skipped in 2020.
First Family won a first place award through the credit Union National Association for their first two programs.
