Reality U is a one-day financial literacy event – for students in high school and middle school – designed to help students understand some of the “realities” involved in preparing for an employable future and adulthood.

The goal is to learn about the correlation between fiscal well being, academic achievement, and financial literacy, all the while enabling students to understand some of the real life examples in preparing for future employment.

At Reality U, students are provided an adult scenario complete with marital status, number of children, occupation, and net monthly income. Students visit a variety of booths to “purchase” housing, transportation, communication services, child care, food, utilities, insurance, etc.

How Reality U Works

Reality U brings a bit of “reality” to students, teaching them about personal finance in an interactive and engaging way.

Students imagine their life as a 26-year old and complete an online lifestyle survey, including questions about their occupation, marital status, use of credit cards, and their current grade point average. This information is entered into our trademarked software program that links their answers to a unique scenario that is individualized for each student. These scenarios are distributed to them the day of the event.

Each scenario includes the student’s monthly income, credit card debt, student loan information, as well as marital and family status. The students are to transfer this information into their student passport and then make purchases at the twelve booths that represent services and/or products that adults typically must purchase or consider each month. (All products/services reflect current economic values of the area.)

Students have the opportunity to learn how their decisions impact their bottom line as they try to make decisions that won’t result in their check register falling below zero! Sometimes they must return a “purchase” and make a different decision. This event actively engages the students to help them understand the importance of education to their financial future. It also engages the community in supporting student learning and developing their understanding of the world of work.

CLICK HERE to view the Reality U Fact Sheet.

Volunteers are needed to run each booth. No experience or special skills necessary. Brief training provided at the event and then the fun begins!

CLICK HERE to volunteer for an upcoming event.

For information on hosting or volunteering for Reality U, contact: Shayla Jones at sjones@cismcc.org.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Natalie Rutledge: nrutledge@cisgeorgia.org or Jennifer Lynch: jlynch@cisgeorgia.org