Modesto-area middle school students get a ‘Bite of Reality,’ a lesson in budgeting basics
Do your children know how you balance your funds for rent, groceries, household needs and childcare? Did you know how to when you were a teenager?
Glick Middle School students attended a “Bite of Reality” event after school Wednesday to learn about the difficulties of balancing finances in life.
The event was a collaboration between Valley First Credit Union, Mocse Credit Union and the Empire Union School District.
Nichole Gutierrez, the district’s coordinator of after-school programs, said the event was an opportunity for students to use math and financial literacy skills.
“They don’t really see the backstory behind how money comes about and how to budget,” Gutierrez said. “I feel like it would just be a super-engaging activity for them and very educational to know about budget life, including the mishaps of good and bad that pop up on them.”
Around 60 students went to the library, where they were instructed to download the Bite of Reality app to their phones. The app assigned them a simulated life with a randomly selected job, a set salary and, in some cases, a spouse and a child.
Students who didn’t have phones were partnered with classmates.
With their income, the seventh- and eighth-graders had to manage to buy something from each table that represented a bill or responsibility: housing and utilities, entertainment, groceries and dining, personal hygiene, cars, child care and other miscellaneous shopping.
Students who failed to budget their funds and went into debt were required to go to a table representing a bank where loans were explained.
“This event is pretty interesting and very interactive,” said Aleen Velazquez, an eighth-grader. “It gives kids a chance to look at the real world and how expensive it is because at this age when kids get money, they can really just spend it quickly on stuff that they just want.”
The job Velazquez was assigned was a mechanic and she had $3,000 to budget. She found it hard to balance her paycheck and her spouse and child’s needs in the app. Some students received $5,000, while others received less.
By the end of the event, over half of the students went into debt, while the other half managed to still have some money left in their bank accounts.
Erica Modaffari, a financial health educator with Valley First Credit Union, urged the students to talk to their parents about the event. She said it is important to teach kids early about money because it’s an integral part of their lives that will never go away.
“The more you know about money and the more you have a foundation when you graduate high school or if you have to get a job,” she said, “you will be able to understand and experience how to deal with your money and how to save your money…”
In June, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 2927, which will require schools to add financial literacy as a high school graduation requirement.
The legislation will require a semester-long personal finance education course be available for all high school students by the 2027-28 school year and make personal finance a graduation requirement starting with the 2030-31 graduating class — students currently in sixth grade.
“We need to help Californians prepare for their financial futures as early as possible. Saving for the future, making investments, and spending wisely are lifelong skills that young adults need to learn before they start their careers, not after,” he said when he signed it.
