PUTNAM COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Putnam County high school juniors and seniors got a taste of what the real world is like on Wednesday at Ottawa-Glandorf High School.
Superior Credit Union and the Ohio State University Extension Office invited nearly 500 high school students from all the Putnam County schools to learn about financial education. The students were assigned a job and a salary, and they had to figure out how to spend that money wisely while paying for cars, homes, and children. They also learned some tricks to reduce expenses, like being active to reduce health care costs. There were fifteen different areas to visit before tallying up their budget to see how they did.
"Make the house payment, choose the type of car they can afford, the type of cell phone they can afford, and the amount of money they want to allocate to entertainment," says Jason Hedrick, Putnam Co. OSU Extension Office. "So, all of those things are decisions that they have to make, and sometimes they don't make the right ones. And when they find themselves short of money, they got to kind of have to circle back and reevaluate a choice. Sometimes that is hard to do, but that is the learning experience that I enjoy seeing."
"So the biggest thing that we want these students to realize is how much your monthly expenses add up and how important it is to budget and to keep track of your finances," says Chandler Clarkson, Marketing and Member Experience Coordinator at Superior Credit Union.
"I learned that having zero kids saves you lots of money," says Keelie Langhals, Jr., Columbus Grove. "You don't necessarily get the most expensive thing. Whatever is more practical for you and what you are doing. So maybe spending less money right now will save you money now, and maybe if you have extra money then you can upgrade."
The Real Money. Real World. program has been going on in Putnam County for nearly 20 years.
