Columbus Students Get Financial Wake-Up Call

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Tough economic times have some people wishing they were more financially savvy. Local officials are now taking steps to make sure the generation of tomorrow doesn’t repeat some of the mistakes made by today’s generation.

When it comes to what’s on the minds of middle school students, money probably isn’t at the top of the list. While, for them, money can seem like a luxury, not long from now, it will be a necessity.

When that time comes, Franklin County Treasurer Ed Leonard wants to make sure they’re prepared.

Tuesday, about 150 students with Columbus City Schools packed into the agriculture building on the Ohio State University campus for a financial wake-up call—a crash course on finances officials hope will last a lifetime. 

“This wake-up call really shows young people what it really takes to manage a household and what those expenses are that they never really think about,“ said Leonard.

The students were assigned a career, given a salary and some were even given a spouse and children. Along they way, they had to keep a budget and meet expenses such as housing, transportation and utilities. 

“It really makes an impression on them on how important it is to earn as much as they can, do as well as they can in school in order to make sure they’re able to meet those financial obligations,“ said Leonard.

While this may be make believe, it will soon be the real thing.

Rodnea Egglestown, an eighth-grade student at Sherwood Middle School was one of the students who attended the event. “It’s actually cool because we get to learn all this stuff and what we do actually prepares us so we won’t blow our money when we get older,“ she said.

Dreneq Gibson, a sixth-grade student at Medina Middle School also attended.  “You can learn how to save your money and learn how to take care of your family,“ she said.

Classmate Jason Smith adds, “Later on in life it shows you how to spend money responsible.“

And that’s the goal.

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