Published March 18, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — With graduation just around the corner, Lynnfield High School seniors were given a crash course about personal finance and budgeting during the fourth annual Invest in Life Fair on March 11.
Business teacher Jim Thoen launched the Invest in Life Fair four years ago as a way to teach seniors about the importance of having a monthly budget and the challenges associated with making ends meet. He said the fair builds on the skills students are taught in Personal Finance courses.
“We have five sections of Personal Finance at Lynnfield High School, and this is a fun way for the kids to see how it plays out in real life,” said Thoen. “A lot of the kids have told me they had no idea being an adult was so difficult. It’s a lot of fun.”
Similar to previous years, Thoen said seniors were able to pick an occupation and were then assigned an entry-level salary for that career. Afterwards, students visited different stations pertaining to credit and lending, community service, financial counseling, housing, leisure and fun, public safety, savings and retirement, transportation and the U.S. Army.
“Students have to go to several different stations to buy things,” said Thoen. “It is designed to help students learn how to budget their money and see what real life is like.”
Thoen said the fair included a health and nutrition station as well.
“We want students to learn the financial connection between finance and good health, particularly healthy eating,” said Thoen.
Thoen said one of the Invest in Life Fair’s main goals is to teach seniors why “credit scores are important and how they get changed.”
“All of the kids are given a credit score by a roll of the dice,” said Thoen. “But it gives us an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation about credit scores. Some of the purchases students will make will be more expensive if they have a low credit score. But we also have a way for them to improve their credit scores.”
Thoen also said the fair strives to teach students about the importance of saving for retirement.
“This is a generation that is not going to have pensions other than public pensions and this is a generation that is not going to have Social Security be quite the same way as it has been traditionally,” said Thoen. “Retirement is going to be largely on them. Saving early for retirement is extremely important.”
Thoen said the Invest in Life Fair focuses on “the concept of paying yourself first.”
“It’s important for students to learn that they need to set money aside for an emergency fund for three to six months of living expenses,” said Thoen. “If students do that, they will have a financial cushion if they have an unexpected expense. That is what we teach in the Personal Finance courses.”
Thoen said the Reality Wheel was a big hit with students once again.
“The Reality Wheel is either like a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ or a wheel of misfortune,” said Thoen. “The kids spin it and there are over 30 options. Two-thirds of the options are negative financially such as having a cracked a windshield, and one-third are positive such as winning a gift card from Dunkin’ Donuts or inheriting some money. It’s designed to throw a curve at you and shows why an emergency fund is needed. It’s a lot of fun.”
Senior Owen Blacker said he learned a lot at the Invest in Life Fair.
“It is very interesting,” said Blacker. “It’s great Mr. Thoen is taking the time to help us prepare for life after high school. It has been really interesting and cool.”
Senior Anna Maria Ferrante agreed.
“It’s a great experience,” said Ferrante. “It has taught me about what my life is going to be like after college. I feel more prepared now that I have gone through this experience.”
Thoen said the Invest in Life Fair was only open to seniors due to logistical reasons.
“I want to offer this program for seniors because they are closer to using all of these things than everybody else,” said Thoen. “There are other schools that have similar fairs open to juniors, and we are considering doing that.”
Superintendent Jane Tremblay was incredibly impressed with the Invest in Life Fair once again.
“Jim Thoen does a great job bringing everything together,” said Tremblay. “The kids really benefit from this experience and hopefully it helps them in future years.”
LHS Assistant Principal Brian Bates concurred with Tremblay’s viewpoint.
“We talk a lot about experiential learning, and this is the perfect example of experiential learning,” said Bates. “The kids come in and get a real life experience that will hopefully carry on with them when they leave here.”
Thoen said a number of local businesses and civic groups supported the Invest in Life Fair. The fair’s main sponsors were The Savings Bank and the Donald E. Garrant Foundation, which purchased “padfolios” for students. He also said a state grant helped finance the fair. He noted the Lynnfield and Wakefield Rotary Clubs supported the fair as well.
“We also had volunteers from many community organizations, including Ira Toyota, Berkshire Hathaway, RE/MAX, Century 21, Raveis Realtors
Holiday Travel, Everett Bank, Wakefield Co-operative Bank, Staged Occasions, My Mortgage Company, attorney Matt Desrochers, Ironside Financial, U.S. Army, and the Lynnfield Fire and Police Departments,” said Thoen.
Thoen said his goal for the fair is to teach seniors about the importance of personal finance in a fun way.
“Based on the surveys we have done over the last few years, over 90 percent of our students find this fair extremely useful, which is nice,” said Thoen. “It’s important for students to understand how important a credit score is and how it impacts their financial life. We also want to teach students about how important it is to save for retirement. That is huge. While it’s important for people to figure out what kind of car they are going to buy or what type of housing they are going to live in, what sets people up financially for the long haul are good credit scores, an emergency fund and saving for retirement.”