LEWISTON — Looking at what jobs pay and what things cost, Billie Jo Britto’s eighth-graders got a sense Tuesday of how much of their paychecks they’d have after the bills are paid when they’re adults.
“I’m so poor. I’m going to have to get a second job,” groaned student Caroline LaPerriere.
She was filling out a monthly budget that showed her $20,420 annual pay would give her $1,000 a month after insurance and taxes.
The Lewiston Middle School students were playing “Claim Your Future,” courtesy of the Finance Authority of Maine.
The game shows students what their life could be like depending on how much education and what kind of job they get. The goal is to plant seeds for students to start thinking about what they want to do and how to get there. Most in Britto’s career prep class were 13 years old.
“Where do you see yourself in 20 years?” Mary Dyer of FAME asked the class. “When you get up in the morning, what does your life look like? Where do you want to be?”
FAME has played “Claim Your Future” with students for years, but has just expanded it with free kits for teachers and made it available online.
Tuesday’s game started by each student being assigned a career with an annual income and monthly income. A computer programmer’s annual income was $67,280, the monthly income $3,400 after taxes, health insurance and student loan payments taken out.
Filling out budget worksheets, students had to decide how much to spend on housing, transportation, food and communication. The goal was to have something left over.
In housing, the cheapest alternative was to live with their parents and pay $275 a month. Living with a roommate was $400, having their own place was $800, and owning their own home was $1,375 a month.
Food expenses included $200 a month for basic (lots of peanut butter), $400 for average. Organic or gourmet food would cost more.
For transportation, students had to decide whether to take a public bus or subway for $100 a month, or buy and maintain a cheap used car for $325, or a nicer car for $525 a month.
The bills piled up quickly.
Then there were decisions of what kind of cellphone, land line and Internet plan to get. If they wanted a pet, that would be about $150 a month by the time they buy food and pay veterinarian bills.
Should they allow themselves $50 a month for personal grooming? Go skiing monthly for $125? Attend games or concerts for $100 a month?
Back at Caroline LaPerriere’s desk, she decided to live with a roommate for $400 rather than live with her parents. She’d take public transportation. “I have no money. I can’t afford a car,” she said.
After picking frugal ways to live, her day care job left her with $20. LaPerriere said she plans to go to college and become a teacher.
Connor Francis was assigned a career of graphic designer which gave him $1,600 a month.
Filling out his budget, Francis opted to live with his parents, go without a car, spend $200 a month on food, have a cellphone and Internet. “All I need is the basics,” he said.
For extras he wanted a pet and to go skiing. He was left with $250 a month. The game “was helpful,” Francis said. “It gets us thinking about the future and what job I want to have.” He plans to become a mechanical engineer.
Qiana Marks-White and Eva May Rockwell were making plans to live with roommates, sharing bills and stretching their money.
Assigned the career of police officer with $2,200 a month to live on, Marks-White decided she’d get cable, a cat, a used car and a cheap food plan. She had $665 left over.
“A lot of things cost more than what I thought they actually would,” she said. Often she doesn’t think about what things cost, “because most of the time it’s not out of my pocket.”
Rockwell was assigned the job of a dental assistant with $1,900 a month to live on. She opted to spend more on food, get her own car, a basic cellphone. Her budget had no room for cable or a pet.
Playing “Claim Your Future” left her feeling appreciative.
“How do adults do this?” she said. “I realize what my mother goes through every month.”
“How do adults do this? I realize what my mother goes through every month.” — Eighth-grader Eva May Rockwell
Play ‘Claim Your Future’ online
The Finance Authority of Maine rolled out an expanded game of “Claim Your Future” this week to schools in Portland, Bangor and Lewiston.
The game is available to all middle school teachers to help students understand what living costs are, what different careers pay and what they need to do to get a certain career.
The game is also online for everybody to use at www.claimyourfuture.com/.
For more information visit: www.FAMEmaine.com.
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- Khadija Adan shares some of the realities she discovered when playing the Claim Your Future game. Students were assigned careers, each of which came with a predetermined monthly paycheck and a list of expenses, including student loans, utilities and groceries.
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