St. Joseph’s Villa Students Learn Life Lessons In
Budgetmania! Game with Summit Federal Credit Union

June 7, 2007—To spend or not to spend. That is the question.

Or at least, that’s one of the many questions teenage students at the St. Joseph’s Villa Avalon School were asking as they played an interactive game called Budgetmania!, conducted by staff from The Summit Federal Credit Union on Wednesday, May 30th.

That morning, 16 sophomores, juniors and seniors at the alternative high school at 300 Chesterton Road in Greece, were randomly assigned occupations (fire chief, brain surgeon, pastry chef or goat herder) and received a monthly income, accordingly, in play money. The students then moved through various “stations” – manned by Summit Federal Credit Union staff -- that mimic the real-life financial choices and challenges they might encounter in a typical month.

For example, a student ‘fire chief” needed to decide how to responsibly allocate his monthly income to purchase housing, transportation, food, clothing and entertainment, while still having enough money left over to contribute to a charity and cover the unexpected pitfalls of life. Players receive positive and negative “consequence” cards based on the purchasing decisions they made. The game also gave students the option of establishing savings accounts, investing or applying for a loan or credit card.

Theresa Mauro, 17, of Irondequoit, found it quite a challenge to budget her $2,200 fire chief salary to cover all of her monthly expenses. “I wanted to buy a sports car and eat out at a restaurant every night, but I realized I had to make smart choices with my money or I was going to run out. I ended up buying a sedan instead, and making other decisions that were more practical. This game teaches you about some of the hard choices you have to make in life.”

Avalon School Director Lucy Miraglia says the game “provided a crucial and fun learning experience” for the students, all of whom have emotional, behavioral and social needs and benefit from Avalon’s smaller setting, close instruction and support of special education teachers and social workers.

“We’re always thinking of ways we can help our students transition successfully into the community,” says Miraglia. “While most Avalon students are eager to make their way in the world, and many of them have part-time jobs already, they are less prepared for the realities of living on a real-world pay-check, paying bills, handling credit cards and saving money. We’re grateful to The Summit for helping them gain some valuable skills that will help them when they’re independent.”

Summit Senior Vice President/COO Laurie Baker says the credit union realized “an important opportunity to give Avalon students a jump-start on some of the financial decisions” that will arise when they are on their own. The Summit, which has been a long-standing supporter of St. Joseph’s Villa, was excited to bring the Budgetmania! game -- developed by the local marketing/graphic design agency KrausCreative -- to Villa kids, she says.

“As a credit union, one of our main priorities is helping kids understand the basics of money management,” says Baker. “This leads to better decision-making as they enter the workforce and it helps them become better consumers. Ultimately it helps maintain a stronger community by supporting, teaching and reaching out to these young people. Financial education and building positive relationships is very important to us and part of our core mission as a credit union.”

In terms of money management, Avalon students are not unlike the general population of young people today, who, studies show, have a distorted sense of reality when it comes to salaries and budgeting. A national 2007 Charles Schwab & Co. survey showed that less than half of the 13 to 18 year-old respondents knew how to budget and pay bills, and most did not understand credit card interest. Almost all had an inflated sense of what they would earn in their chosen careers, and only one-quarter said their parents had ever talked to them about budgeting.

The Summit Federal Credit Union
Toll Free: 1.800.836.7328
Member Services and Information: 585.453.7030
www.summitfcu.org

St. Joseph’s Villa
3300 Dewey Avenue
Rochester, NY 14616
585.865.1550
www.stjosephsvilla.org