As teens approach the real world, and graduate high school, they will need to learn about financial management. The Institution for Savings is offering a simulation for financial decision making to students who are juniors. The event will be located in the Masconomet Field House, and includes Pentucket, Newburyport, Triton, Ipswich, Rockport, Gloucester and Beverly. The goal of Credit for Life is to expose students to financial literacy, and get them ready for real world experiences.

The event will be held this upcoming March to offer eleventh grade students a chance to learn about some responsibilities they may need to take on. During this event, students are assigned professions along with an annual salary that they have to learn to budget. They then learn how to obtain  a monthly budget by visiting about 15 different booths such as, Housing, Transportation, Food, Fun, Fun,Fun, and more. The goal is for students to utilize their cash in the best way possible. In the simulation, there also may be some unexpected occurrences such as getting a speeding ticket, or even an expensive doctors appointment.

The Triton Voice asked some students what they thought about the event. “I will definitely be attending this upcoming event. My profession will be something to do with pharmacy since that’s what I want to do when I’m older. This will be helpful because I will be able to see how I will have to budget my money, and what unexpected events I may face” said Junior, Amy Clark.

“A few weeks before we got to pick our careers, and then the day of the event they gave us this book that included our profession and a random credit score. If you were lucky you got a good credit score which gave you the ability to borrow more money, and make larger purchases. The event taught us how to spend our money wisely with a budget” said senior Gillian Sweeney. “During the credit for life fair last year I chose to work with a partner. It was interesting to see how we had to budget our money together, and how much we ended up saving by being roommates. I actually won free college tuition at one of the booths which helped out, and I was able to travel at the Fun, Fun, Fun booth!”

The event seems to have been a huge success over the past years. The event originally was held here at Triton, then outgrew the space. More schools want to get involved each year to allow their students to get this experience. The Triton Voice also interviewed a worker at the Institution for Savings at Triton.

“The event started 8 years ago. It shows students exactly what it’s like to be twenty-five. No schools really show students how to deal with real life circumstances. The event sometimes scares students because they see how much student loans actually are. They aren’t expecting a lot of the things we show them which is why this is such an amazing opportunity” says Bank Teller Jocelyn Adams-Olson.

The Institution for Savings operates in school banks in the area to provide students with hands on experiences. Students can be trained to work as tellers and get experience with real customers. Many students and staff open up an accounts to make transactions in school and start saving for college.

“The whole idea is great for students to learn about real life experiences they may run into” said Marketing/ Accounting teacher Mr. Brendan Stokes.

Credit for Life’s future seems to be pretty bright. The Triton Voice also interviewed Guidance Director Meghan Ober to see what her opinion was regarding the event. “The event is run entirely by the Institution for Savings. They pay everything for our students to be able to have this experience, which we are very grateful for since we won’t having to be worrying about cutting this from our budget. They take care of buses, food, and everything else. We offer business classes here but nothing like this event. This is truly an event you do not want to miss out on. It would be great if every student could get the experience of how to manage their life.”

The Institution for Savings event is one of the largest in the state, with more than 800 students and 175 community volunteers expected to attend it is a huge hit among students, teachers and especially parents every year.