Dose of reality: Portage Area fair gives students an eye-opening look at personal finance

Gribbin has taught personal finance classes at the Portage Area High School for about 10 years but decided to hold a reality fair this year in partnership with seven federal credit unions and business volunteers to give students a reality check into what managing finances is like as an adult.
Ahead of the event, each student was given an educational level with an attached salary and a credit card limit of $2,000. It was up to them to decide what type of vehicle, house and luxuries they can afford on top of various insurance costs and groceries.
Gribbin said many students claimed they wouldn’t spend more than $500 on groceries per month at the fair, but they quickly realized they were wrong and had to readjust their budgets.
“It’s a very realistic simulation of what things actually cost,” Gribbin said. “It’s a really cool learning experience for them to see what things cost.”
USSCO Johnstown Federal Credit Union chief executive officer Greg Sisitki helped coordinate the event.
“Financial literacy is huge,” Sisitki said. “We need to make sure that these students know what they’re doing and what happens in real life to get them prepared.”
Sisitki said there were 36 volunteers, like CBW Schools Federal Credit Union Vice President Lauren Hribar and WJAC general manager Jason Chavis, who participated in the event.
“Without them, we couldn’t do any of this,” Sisitki said.
At Chavis’ table, students selected their housing options.
A couple students throughout the day circled back to his table after realizing that “living with mom and dad is not such a bad option,” Chavis said.
“It’s kind of fun to get them to step back and consider planning things out because you’re so in the weeds on all of this stuff that you don’t have the opportunity to think about it until you have to think about it,” he said.
At Hribar’s table, students spun the “wheel of reality,” which contained unexpected prizes like paying a $50 copay at the doctor’s office, $250 for car repairs or $85 for a speeding ticket. There were other rewards, such as receiving a $50 gift card for groceries, a $250 tax refund and profiting $75 from selling an item online.
When junior Lane Sheppard spun the wheel, he lost $50 to a doctor’s copay.
Sheppard said he was “taking it easy” with his expenses and chose to live with his parents to save on rent and utilities.
The financial reality fair was a lot of fun, he said.
Juniors Bridget Semanchik and Kiera McCarty said they had fun, too.
“I really enjoy getting to learn about finances and stuff for my future. It’s pretty interesting to learn about all of that,” Semanchik said.
McCarty said her favorite part was going around to the different tables, seeing what she could spend there and then deciding whether it was worth spending her money on things she didn’t need.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.