CONCORD/MANCHESTER, N.H.–More than 600 eighth grade students from Rundlett, Bow, Gilford and Chichester Middle Schools made real-life decisions to teach them financial skills during the CU 4 Reality Financial Literacy Fair at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord sponsored by NH Federal Credit Union in conjunction with St. Mary’s Bank.
The program uses an in-class curriculum during the school year to teach participants important skills that will equip students to handle money responsibly, set and adhere to budgets, and avoid the pitfalls of spending more than they make.
The CU 4 Reality Financial Literacy Fair is a day-long event where students see how career selection impacts their financial well-being and their life choices. At the CU 4 Reality Fair, students create a spending plan based on a career and salary researched in school, then they juggle needs versus wants to make sure they are living within their means. Participants meet with representatives for auto sales, utilities, housing, insurance, retailers, and others. Students soon understand the real expenses they will face in adulthood and the choices they need to make to make ends meet and avoid falling in to debt.
“Teaching our youth - our future consumers and members - the basics of budgeting and personal finance is an invaluable lesson,” said Polly Saltmarsh, VP Financial Education & Business Development for the $260 million NH Federal Credit Union. “Today, we work with many people who need assistance getting out of debt and making ends meet. We believe that teaching young people today the basic steps involved in building a personal spending plan can help prevent future troubles. The skills they learn and employ in this program are not often taught in the classroom, but, everyone needs them. We believe we can make a real difference by imparting these skills and lessons before students begin getting jobs and making spending decisions in the real world.”
The CU 4 Reality Program began in 2005, with a curriculum co-written by four Rundlett Middle School teachers, Diane Barlow, Peter Bowler, Laurie Haney, and Bill Ryan (now retired). The curriculum combines classroom work with the CU 4 Reality Fair, where students take the lessons they learned and apply them.
NH Federal Credit Union has been supporting Rundlett Middle School since the inception of the program, providing classroom presentations, underwriting the costs of the program, and organizing the CU 4 Reality Fair.