Before kicking off April break, 70 Duxbury High School seniors took part in “Credit for Life” for most of the school day on Wednesday, April 13 and figured out just how much money and planning it takes to live on your own.
“Credit for Life Fair” was a combined effort of the high school administration, math department teachers, the Parent Teacher Organization, many parent and community volunteers, financial advisors, banks and local businesses.
The day-long event is Duxbury’s first foray into “Credit for Life” the name given to similar efforts around the state to help prepare students for life outside of school.
Funding for the fair was provided by the Massachusetts Office of Economic Empowerment and food for the students, volunteers and speakers was donated by Marshfield-based Roche Bros. Grocery and the Duxbury Senior Center.
After listening to speakers Jack Corbett of Kelliher Corbett Group at Morgan Stanley and motivational speaker Aaron Wilson (CEO of Brockton-based motivational speaker firm Lead the Baseline) at DHS, students were assigned a job and a salary and walked over to the Timothy Steele Building to figure out their life and what it would cost.
Once there, they were greeted with choices to make: where to live, what phone plan to buy, car or public transit (and if car, what kind of car), clothes for work, insurance, groceries, applying for credit and loans, community service information and a roulette wheel called “The Reality Check” to provide students with an idea of budgeting for the unexpected things that pop up in life.
The purpose of the “Reality Check” table, manned by DHS Principal Andrew Stephens, was to throw a wrench in the budget the way unexpected expenses often do in life, said Stephens. “It’s the stuff you don’t expect: a flat tire, the boiler breaks down, the kinds of things that wreak havoc,” Stephens said.
Students were intent on figuring it out and had lots of questions at each booth.
“There is a lot to know,” said DHS senior Celia Borghesani. Borghesani, who tackled the “renting or buying options” booth with the help of Duxbury Mortgage Service’s president Anne Antonellis, said she was glad for the time and the information available to students.
“I think this is a great thing for us,” said Borghesani.
It wasn’t just the price of the essentials that the fair covered, though. Many of us like a gym to work out in and money for a fun night out with friends or family. Estimated costs of those things were available and students had a chance to figure out how these things worked into their budget.
“It’s the little things that get you,” said mom and volunteer Rose Sweeney. “My son just graduated and its things like this (paying for a gym membership) that you have to figure out. What do I want and what can I afford? Smaller costs like this need to be accounted for as well so that you can have the life you want.”
The goal for the event was that putting all the numbers together would help students become successful adults.
“Hopefully, we are setting them on the right track,” said Jamie Hansman, a financial planner at LPL Financial in Halls Corner. A parent of DHS alumni and volunteer, Patti Ryan, said the program would benefit “any kid.”
“I wish it was around when my kids were going through school,” Ryan said. “There’s a lot to learn when you get out on your own.”