NuVista FCU, Montrose, Colo., recently held a “It’s Your Life” simulation day, dedicated to teaching local high school students about the financial obligations they will face after graduation.

Through the help of a Biz Kid$ Financial Education Grant from the National Credit Union Foundation, NuVista FCU provided teachers at the high school with Biz Kid$ videos and lesson plans to prepare the students prior to the “It’s Your Life” event. Biz Kid$ is the Emmy Award winning and credit union-funded public television series that teaches kids about money management and entrepreneurship.

NuVista FCU held a financial reality fair at Montrose High School as the focal point of their “It’s Your Life” event.  A reality fair is an interactive financial literacy tool for high school students that allows students the opportunity to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start life on their own.  Students are able to identify their career choice and starting salaries, then complete a budget sheet requiring them to live within their monthly salary. 

More than 200 students who attended the reality fair, all of them high school seniors who are close to graduating and entering the next phase of their lives.  The “It’s Your Life” event provides a great example of a community coming together to help improve the financial lives of the younger generation, with 65 volunteers from local businesses, government organizations, Montrose High School, and NuVista FCU.