Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, October 09, 2008

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Sara Summers looks over the Reality Store's budget categories with a fellow seventh-grader at LTMS.

Sara Summers, a seventh-grader at Lexington Traditional Magnet School, has taken her parents’ financial advice to heart: “Make sure you don’t go with what you want,” she said. “Go with what you need first.”

That was Sara’s guiding principle Tuesday afternoon in the school’s Reality Store, a life-skills activity that gives students a taste of the adult world. Each student has to figure out how – within their assigned budget – to pay for everything from transportation and insurance to groceries, housing and child care.

“The whole thing is that it pays to get a good education,” said Valerie Russell, a part-time receptionist at LTMS, who has organized the Reality Store for the past five years. “If only one or two kids have that ‘Ah ha!’ moment … it’s worth it.”

Sara started on the right foot – receiving a randomly assigned career as an elementary/secondary school administrator, a job that paid $60,576 a year (in real life she wants to be an actress). Next, after drawing her lot in life out of a bag, the 13-year-old learned that she was “single with no children.”

As she moved from station to station across the gym, Sara discovered she could live quite comfortably on her salary, but consistently signed up for the least expensive options. “I’m trying to stick with the lowest prices. That way I have money left over,” she explained.

Need a haircut? The local beauty school charges only $8. Clothing expenses? “I’m sticking with the garage sale,” Sara decided. Entertainment? The public library is a rich resource, especially for a book lover like Sara. Phone service? A basic land line will do, thank you very much.

Not all of her classmates took the practical approach. The line at the transportation table, where kids could choose the type of car to buy, was the longest, and the new Mustang was among the more popular picks.

On her preliminary worksheet, Sara had noted she’d like to drive a Ford truck. But then she got some details on monthly payments and car insurance. “I saw how much it cost and I was like ‘Whoa!’” said Sara, who bought a bus pass instead.

That kind of reality check is what makes this exercise useful as students get a handle on prices and realize that their grades are an early indication of where they might wind up in life.

At the beginning of the activity, the kids are assigned jobs or careers based on their current GPA. Sara, for instance, makes high marks, so by age 25 it was assumed she would have earned a master’s degree and landed a good-paying position. Other students, whose grades aren’t as stellar, found themselves looking for second jobs to make ends meet.

“They have to balance their budget for a month,” Russell said, explaining the main life lesson of the Reality Store.

Sara, whose net income was $3,382, had no trouble. She even lucked out at the “chance” table, where “it’s everything from winning the lottery to breaking your leg.” After pulling a card from the pile, she breathed easier – it seems she’d found a $20 bill in a coat pocket from last winter.

Despite her overall good fortune, Sara stuck to her plan, including planning for the unexpected. Before the spending even began, she’d put about half of her take-home money into a savings account “just in case.” But that didn’t mean she was cheap.

At the contributions booth, Sara selected the American Heart Association for her charity. “Even though I’m picking the low end (of necessities), I still want to donate,” she said, describing herself as “a good person who doesn’t spend much.”

In the end, Sara had a little more than $600 left in her checking account, along with kudos for the Reality Store. “It’s a chance for middle schoolers to get ready for the real world,” she said.