LIMA, OH (WLIO) -Â A hands-on financial program teaching young minds about managing money made a stop at Heir Force Community School in Lima. Meteorologist Nathan Kitchens has more on what this program brings area students.
Growing up isn't always as easy as it looks, and the Real Money Real World program offered through OSU Extension is helping area students avoid that rude awakening by teaching them how to budget money and finances. As part of the program, every student is assigned a career and a family situation. From there, students take their monthly salary after taxes to pay their bills. No surprise, students say they didn't realize how much the costs add up.
"I didn't realize how much tax was or college took or how much loans were," commented Amilliyana Nance, 8th Grader at Heir Force.
"Honestly, how much renting a house actually costs. And then Child care is pretty expensive too, so I would say those two things surprised me a lot," stated G'Vonte Davis, 8th Grader at Heir Force.
Soaring rent and food costs in the last couple of years can make budgeting even more challenging, and the program works to reflect that.
"I think a lot of kids are surprised when they look at the cost of food and things like that. We updated our boards in 2021 and even today, the prices of food and things are way higher than what are on our boards. Getting kids to realize that prices are always changing and that things do cost a lot," said Kelly Coble, OSU Extension educator.
Heir Force Community School has participated in the financial literacy program for a couple of years and has also created a Financial Investment Club. Life and living takes experience and exposing students to financial awareness sets the stage for future success.
"It's good to be able to talk to young people now who have graduated and moved on, and they still have these accounts and they're putting money into those accounts. That's when you begin to see the importance of being able to teach them the importance of financial literacy and managing their money," said Dr. Willie Heggins, executive director of Heir Force Community School.
