West Hancock gym transformed into Real Life Academy for student learning

An estimated 20 area businesses donated time and resources to make this year’s event possible, including persons associated with a well-known local auto dealership, realty agencies, banks, insurance agencies, a local health system and learning center, wealth-management advisement businesses, an area food bank, churches and the police department.

“It was a good spread of people,” said West Hancock School counselor Matt Welp, noting that seniors also did it in 2022, coming out of the pandemic. “This year was a little different, as we only had juniors do it. They take a financial-literacy class as juniors, so this fits well with that.”

Upon suggestion of one of the local financial institutions, there was a new simulation this year. Students who lost a debit card needed to go to the bank to discuss ways to protect against identity theft or deal with fraud charges appearing on their account.

“Because that’s such a frequent thing, it’s good for them to go and learn how to deal with something like that,” said Welp, noting that another increasingly more common real-life scenario of an additional percentage service charge for credit or debit card payments was also addressed. “That kind of catches people off guard sometimes.”

Welp provided an example of one student who had a $1,200 overdraft due to a math mistake. Needless to say, they learned quickly that banks can assess charges and additional fees.

“It was kind of eye-opening for that kid that you better do your math correctly or know how much money is in your account,” Welp said.

Among many other lessons, students also learned how costs of fueling up one or two vehicles can change quickly. They also learned how best to shop for essential items with various forms of payment via Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and other retailers. Welp said that students were also walked through real-life details pertaining to interest charges and understanding fine print associated with credit cards.

Other basics included learning how to properly fill out checks and how to run a cash register. They also learned about net and gross income. Welp said event organizers are looking at means to delve more into online banking in future years while maintaining the basic money orientation.

“Kids do really well with it,” he said. “This has been one of the better groups that took it really seriously as a whole. It was a good morning. The kids really do like it and get into it. It’s fun for them to be able to be in a controlled environment and practice those skills.”

Each student was given a life where they were age 27. They chose being married, single, or divorced, and whether they wanted to have one or more children and/or a pet. They were assigned one of their chosen professions. Payroll taxes were deducted from their job salary, so they had a net amount of money available to spend each month. They visited tables that were set up to represent businesses and activities people must deal with in real life.

There was a checks and balances table, manned by local bankers, who reviewed their registered and helped keep them on the right track, according to Welp. An SOS table was also established to counsel students who ran out of money before they ran out of bills. There, students reexamined some of their purchases and sometimes headed back to buy a cheaper car or smaller home, or if desperate, took on second job.

“We’ll keep coming up with different ideas to adjust it and make it better every year,” Welp said.