Financial Reality program teaches students to handle curveballs

The Get REAL Financial Reality Fair for high school students isn’t just about learning to balance a checkbook, manage money and handle credit cards.

It’s also about learning what their parents deal with in managing the family’s finances, said Marisa Fulgham, Wrangell branch manager for Tongass Federal Credit Union, which is organizing the event.

“We give each kid a life and a budget. … (Then) we threw curveballs at them.”

Those include expected expenses, such as housing, groceries, medical bills and a vehicle, and maybe the unexpected, such as a child, Fulgham said.

The financial fair is open...