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First Community Bank ‘Reality Check’

Posted 3/4/20

First Community Bank held its second "Reality Check" on Feb. 25. Attending were sophomores who are currently enrolled in Personal Finance classes at Cascade, Community and Shelbyville Central high schools. Before the students arrived, they were given an annual income and family scenario at random. The incomes ranged from $15,000 to $125,000 per year. Some students had children while others may have been single or own a pet...

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First Community Bank ‘Reality Check’

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First Community Bank held its second "Reality Check" on Feb. 25.

Attending were sophomores who are currently enrolled in Personal Finance classes at Cascade, Community and Shelbyville Central high schools. Before the students arrived, they were given an annual income and family scenario at random. The incomes ranged from $15,000 to $125,000 per year. Some students had children while others may have been single or own a pet.

As the journey progressed students had to make savvy financial decisions on purchasing a house, car, insurance and many more real-life things. Whether you were a single dad who makes $25,000 a year and must support a teenager, the real-life decisions came quickly over the next few hours. There were 13 stops altogether: housing, transportation, food, communications, insurance, the "Wheel of Fate," clothing and laundry, personal care, childcare, savings, furnishings, gifts and recreation and taxes. When visiting each stop, students were given a low, medium or high option to choose from. Once they made their election, they added this to their budget. Each room was staffed with a community volunteer in the field that was being discussed or an FCB employee.

After each student visited each station, they looked at their selections to see if they stayed within their budget. If they had money left, they were given a "100 Grand" candy bar and if they were negative, they were given a "Zero" candy bar.

It's not realistic to not eat when you splurge on buying an expensive car, and that's where the reality set in. After visiting the childcare room several students were questioning how their parents afforded having them and their siblings. One student was quoted saying, "I can't afford a cell phone much less having a baby."

First Community Bank officials said they take great pride in educating youth in financial matters, they are our future. They believe this is an eye-opening experience that all students, facilitators and teachers enjoy.

The bank thanked Rowdy Ranch Catering for feeding the approximately 400 students.