Stratford, CT – April 17, 2018  – For most adults, the reality of managing day-to-day expenses can be a challenge.  For high school students, this “reality” is not far away, but few have experienced it.  Sikorsky Credit Union helps high school students preview what they will face in the future by sponsoring Financial Reality Fairs.  Students at Bunnell High School in Stratford recently took a glimpse into their future by attending a Financial Reality Fair at their school on April 3.  On April 26, students at Stratford High School will attend a Reality Fair event at their school.  Both events are sponsored by Sikorsky Credit Union, a financial institution that has taken a leadership role in promoting financial literacy to high school students.  2018 marks the tenth year that Sikorsky Credit Union has held a Reality Fair for students in Stratford.

The Financial Reality Fair gives students the opportunity to experience “real-life” finances based on their chosen profession.  During the Reality Fair, students visit expense tables to spend their "hard earned money" on real-life choices, such as housing, transportation, food, and utilities.  They are tempted along the way with nonessential expenses including pet ownership, electronics, concert tickets and vacations.   Students also step up to spin the "Wheel of Reality," which increases or decreases their cash flow and simulates unexpected events and expenses that occur in day-to-day life.  After students visit all of the expense tables, they balance their budgets to see if they made the right choices to successfully live on their own.  Students then meet with volunteer financial counselors who show how well they managed their budget.  In the end, students walk away with an awareness of the financial challenges they will face and the experience of maintaining a lifestyle based on a budget. 

For Lisa Waterbury, a Sikorsky Credit Union employee who was a first-time financial counselor, this event had a big impact.  “This was my first time being involved and it is amazing to watch how students recognize the importance of budgeting and saving.  I wish they had a fair like this when I was I high school.”  Diane Christiano, Coordinator of Career & Technology Education in Stratford added: “Every year I continue to be amazed how many high school students are surprised to learn what their parents spend and what it takes to run a household.  For ten years now, Sikorsky Credit Union has partnered with us on the Reality Fair to help prepare students for this awakening as they transition from high school to college to the workforce.”  

.Founded in 1948, Sikorsky Credit Union (www.sikorskycu.org) is the 4th largest credit union in Connecticut with over 50,000 members and more than $730 million in assets.  Sikorsky Credit Union branches are located in the towns of Stratford, Shelton, Seymour, Milford, Trumbull and Danbury. As a state-chartered credit union, membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or volunteers in Fairfield, New Haven or Hartford County. Deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration, an agency of the U.S. Government.