Hands-on event instills life lessons in personal finance

Alabama ONE’s Mad City Money combines financial literacy, learning, and a little bit of chaos for the AREA Montgomery Youth Tour

Alabama ONE co-hosted an event for the 145 high school juniors participating in this year’s Montgomery Youth Tour. The event for the students, who represented electrical co-ops from across the state, was staffed by ten Alabama ONE employees and the almost 40 tour chaperones.

Mad City Money is an immersive and interactive budgeting simulation for high school students. During the two and a halfhour event, students are given a glimpse of adulthood as they acquire a career, children, and debt! In a swirl of activity, stu- dents move from station to station, learning about costs, evaluating their options, and trying to balance all their goals as well as what they want. They are challenged to purchase a house, clothes, transportation, home goods, and much more. Some of those stations include a mall for “wants,” a pushy salesperson, a realtor, other merchants, a credit union and the “Fickle Finger of Fate,” who gives them unexpected windfalls or expenses. The whole event, at times, looks more like an energetic life-size game of Monopoly than a learning activity.

More than just a fun experience, the simulation is designed to help students receive a greater understanding of the challenges adulthood brings, even if it is just for a couple of hours!

Jacquie Johnson, senior director of community affairs and team development at Alabama ONE, says, “It is our desire that by the end of this event, students will walk away with a little more life experience. Par-

“My students absolutely LOVED this activity. In fact, most of them said it was their favorite part of Youth Tour! I thoroughly enjoyed my ‘job’ selling houses, too! Thank you and your team for such an amazing experience.” – CHRISTI SCRUGGS, communications director, Pioneer Electric Cooperative ticipants realize, ‘Oh, I guess I can’t have a big house and a new truck on my salary and still pay for day care and groceries.’ They learn by seeing for themselves what works and what doesn’t.”

During the simulation, participants will learn the consequences of their decisions and share their thoughts and actions with their peers.

Through the Alabama ONE Aspire Foundation, Alabama ONE hosts Mad City Money events for schools across the state. To learn more or to support these statewide initiatives, visit the Foundation’s website, alabamaonefoundation.org 