Financial Reality Fair

Location: Student Success Center Lounge, Mount Laurel Campus

This experience is brought to you by EdiFi Credit Union and the CrossState Credit Union Foundation to provide your students with a unique hands-on financial learning experience called the Financial Reality Fair. We are committed to educating young people about finances in order to help them thrive as working citizens and community members.  

A Financial Reality Fair is designed to teach students the value of using money responsibly. This “real world” exercise instructs students to choose a career and salary, customized for their geographic area, and then budget their monthly expenses to make ends meet.  Students must find a place to live, obtain transportation, and pay for food and other essentials. Over a two-hour period, students will visit with Fair volunteers to “purchase” goods and services needed in everyday life. Students also spin the “Wheel of Reality” to receive one of life’s surprises, such as an unexpected cash gift or the expense of a flat tire. Students document their income and expenses during the exercise and must balance their budget for the month, reviewing their final budget with a Financial Counselor.