What is a credit score? Seniors will find out on April 12!

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All seniors are encouraged to attend the Credit for Life field trip on April 12, 2012.  This is a great financial workshop is presented by Country Bank for high school seniors to learn the basics of financial planning.  Quaboag is thankful for this partnership with Country Bank to provide this valuable resource to our senior class. 

Please see below for additional details about this fantastic opportunity.  If your student is interested in attending, permission slips are available in the guidance office.

What is Credit for Life?

The Credit for Life Fair is a financial literacy exercise where high school seniors are asked to make decisions on how to spend their money. Students will role-play the position of a 25-year old adult with a career, a salary, and a credit score.   They will be assigned a mock checking and savings account balance and possibly a student loan payment, depending on the career choice they selected.   Based on their mock salary, they must make decisions that affect their finances, such as renting an apartment on their own or having a roommate, buying or leasing a vehicle, purchasing furniture, and saving for their retirement. There will be a booth set up for each financial decision the students will have to make. Our goal for the students is to have a better understanding of their future fiscal responsibilities.  We will teach them about balancing a budget and making choices about their finances, and they will learn how one financial choice can greatly impact another.

One of the most important booths at the Credit for Life Fair is the credit score booth. We are going to use this booth to educate the students on what a credit score is and how their future will be impacted with a low, med, or high credit score.  Students will be given a completely random credit score at the very beginning of the fair which will greatly affect their experience.

Lastly, credit counselors will review each student’s final budget one-on-one to ensure solvency or to help students learn how to live within their budget. Managing their own budget and seeing the actual cost of things will leave students with a whole new perspective on real-life financial management.

If you would like more information on the Credit for Life Fair, please contact Jodie Gerulaitis, Financial Education Officer, at 1-800-322-8233, ext. 2024.