A Reality Fair (or “Financial Reality Fair”) is an interactive
financial literacy tool for high school students. The Reality Fair
concept is a unique opportunity for students to experience some of the
financial challenges they will face when they start life on their own.
It’s a hands-on experience in which students identify their career
choice and starting salaries then complete a budget sheet requiring them
to live within their monthly salary while paying for basics such as
housing, utilities, transportation, clothing, and food. Additional
expenditures such as entertainment and travel are factored in as well.
Throughout the fair, there are many temptations for additional
spending, and students must learn to balance their wants and needs to
live on their own. After the students have visited the various booths
covering components of independent living, students balance their
budget, and then sit down with a financial counselor for review.
The Foundation encourages state leagues and foundations to support state-wide
coordinated programs
which increases the number of students
that have access to this experience and
the number of credit unions who can
provide support. Today, 26 states are offering students
Reality Fair Programs – 14 of which can be tied directly
to the Foundation. In 2016, over 85,000 estimated high school students participated in a credit union Reality Fair.
New for 2017: Thanks to a grant from the National Credit Union Foundation, students attending Reality Fairs can use their mobile phone or tablet in place of pen and paper. The Foundation’s grant allowed the Richard Myles Johnson (RMJ) Foundation to expand the reach of its new “Bite of Reality” App, allowing other Reality Fair practitioners to customize it for their own use. Click here for more information.
© 2019 National Credit Union Foundation. All rights reserved.