GREENSBORO, N.C.–Summit Credit Union hosted its first annual Taste of Reality Fair in which young adults used an interactive mobile app to simulate a month in the financial life of an adult.
Each participant was assigned a job, income, credit score, spouse and child. Based on their income and lifestyle, they shopped at eight merchant booths representing monthly expenses including housing, car payments, grocery bills, and lifestyle preferences. Each purchase was deducted from their virtual checking account given in the app.
To simulate real-life occurrences, the app includes a “Fickle Finger of Fate” feature in which the user receives either a lucky bonus or an unexpected expense.
“It was a lot of fun because I had to figure out how to evenly work out my money. And, I found out I can’t get everything I want,” said Erin F, one of the Taste of Reality Fair attendees.
More than 30 young adults were in attendance and learned about the importance of planning, budgeting, and saving money.
“Learning healthy financial habits at an early age will equip our youth to make smart financial choices throughout their lives,” said Summit CEO Sam Whitehurst. “As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, we want to give back to our community and feel this is a great way to educate our youth. We are pleased with the early success of our first event and plan on conducting more of these events in the future.”