Newsroom

Teach students about making good financial decisions through Show Me the Future

By Beth Ziehmer

July 01, 2015

Students using Mapping Your Future's Show Me the Future get a chance to practice making good financial decisions and that experience may help them later when making decisions about their own finances.

In the second quarter of 2015 (April - June 2015), 6,739 individuals played Show Me the Future and nearly 190,000 have played since March 2006. Educators can use Show Me the Future to help teach life skills and money management to help students understand that decisions they make today can have a life-long impact. Students also can learn the difference between wants and needs, one of the basic foundations for financial literacy.

Show Me the Future is designed to help 12-20 year olds prepare for their futures. The game helps players understand:

• the cost of living;
• budgeting, which is vital to financial freedom;
• the difference between wants and needs;
• the importance of financial planning;
• the need to set career goals; and
• the value of higher education.

During the game, players are randomly assigned a career (with salary, educational requirements, and accompanying student loan debt, if applicable) and family status (married or single with one, two, or three children). The players then make the following decisions:

• Housing: rent or own with various price levels for each status
• Transportation: public transportation or purchase a vehicle from various cost options
• Groceries: low to high-cost packages
• Childcare, if applicable
• Insurance: homeowners/renters, automobile, health, life
• Clothing: low to high-cost options
• Personal care items: low to high-cost products
• Charitable contributions
• Entertainment and vacations: low to high budget
• Investments/savings

After making these decisions, the game reflects how much money is left in the monthly budget, allowing students with the opportunity to witness a direct correlation between their wants and needs and their career and financial choices.

Players are required to provide their school name, latest education level, and zip code, making it easy for Mapping Your Future staff to identify patterns.