Some 400 Lowell High School seniors got quite the reality checkduring Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union's sixth annual MoneyStrong forLife Fair, held at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.

During the event, students role played themselves at age 25 andwere tasked with managing their income, savings, credit cards andthe high cost of living.

“The MoneyStrong for Life Fair fits in perfectly with ourmission of helping people make smart financial choices,” Mark S.Cochran, president/CEO of Jeanne D'Arc CU said. “It iscrucial for students to learn the skills necessary to navigate thetwists and turns of life's financial waters. We were pleased toprovide them with an innovative and interesting way of gaining somereal-life financial experience.”

Students chose their desired profession and were assigned therealistic income along with credit card debt, a savings account andstudent loan debt. Aspiring policemen and women, veterinarians,writers, choreographers, medical assistants, engineers and moremoved from booth to booth making spending decisions on lifeessentials while managing a budget based on their monthlyincome.

At each of the 13 booths, students had to make choices such aswhat kind of apartment they would live in, whether or not to haveroommates, to purchase a car or opt for a bus pass, and whichinsurance plan was best while weighing the delicate balance ofneeds vs. wants.

“This is definitely going to be useful to me because it's goingto teach me the importance of spending money wisely,” Brianne, oneof the student participants said.

“I'm glad we have this because my mom never taught me thisstuff. I need this,” Alyssa said.

Students were tempted by high-cost items at the Luxury booth andsome were also presented with unexpected scenarios at the RealityCheck booth. There were students who lost their job, had babies orreceived an unanticipated bonus at work. They then had to determinehow to cope with these scenarios based on the cash and creditavailable to them.

Alexandra, 18, was one of the students who got a reality checkwhen she had a baby. “This will definitely make things harder forme as I go through because it's an extra $200 a month and that's alot with everything else,” she said.

As the final step, students were required to visit theCounseling booth where they discovered whether they were livingwithin their budgets. Many had to make changes to their lifestyleswhen it was revealed they were spending far more money than theywere earning.

A total of 77 people, the majority of which were employees fromJeanne D'Arc CU, volunteered to help students in theirdecision-making processes. The credit union underwrote the cost ofthe event, including lunch for students and volunteers.