FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Oak Hill Middle School’s recent Get a Life simulation taught the students about living with a minimum wage job and higher education.
They had a chance to go through and “purchase” a home, make a house payment, purchase a car, make a car payment, insurance, gas, and groceries.
I saw how they budgeted their expenses for a month.
“What they have, their wants, their needs, different things like that,” said West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office Financial Education Specialist Katie Holstein.”
Being an adult entails managing your money. In a few years, something Oak Hill Middle School students will be able to relate to and the concerns that go with it.
“Not going into debt, spend your money wisely,” Eighth-Grader Tessa Adkins said. “Like you don’t go shopping or like spend all your money on stuff that’s like useless because you have other things that it needs to go to.”
Life can throw you a curveball.
“They also might get a green reaper card, which is some type of unexpected expense,” said Holstein. “Could be a flat tire. If they get a lucky leprechaun card, that’s going to be good, like they might get $100 for their birthday and can add that to their balance.”
What would it feel like to Get a Life and have responsibilities?
“It feels good to learn how it works,” Eighth-Grader Makynlee Lewis said, adding that spending too much money can actually hurt your income.
Many couldn’t believe how expensive things are.
“Some of them take it really serious and see how much they have left in their budget, and then some of them are just kind of like it’s a game, so I’m going to kind of blow through my budget no matter what,” said Holstein.
