More than 80 local high school students received a sobering lesson in financial literacy at a Financial Reality Fair on July 21 at Naugatuck Valley Community College. The students from Waterbury, Danbury, Torrington and elsewhere were assigned a hypothetical job, salary, debt and credit score. They were then tasked with budgeting for food, housing, transportation, clothing, student loan payments and other expenses.

For Joanne Harrington, a student at the Gilbert School in Winsted who was assigned a modest salary as a teacher, the exercise was an eye-opener. “I didn’t know there were a lot of taxes… and credit, and the car and the housing. That was a lot,” she said. Harrington summed up what she learned in three words: “spend it wisely.”

After students went through the fair, they sat down with a financial counselor and reviewed their money decisions. “That way, when they get out of this exercise, it sticks with them,” said David Hinchey, director of community impact with The Credit Union League of Connecticut, which organized this event and many others around the state. He said at least 80 percent of students who go through the program say they will save more and make better financial choices.

“A lot of them, when they go home, they thank their parents for all they do, because they realize that cell phone they had to buy and that cell phone payment, which can be $100 a month, they didn’t realize their parents are picking up the tab,” said Hinchey. “So even changing just that one attitude helps tremendously.”

The fair was sponsored by NVCC, The Credit Union League of Connecticut and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board. Volunteers from NVCC, Northwestern Connecticut Community College, local credit unions, Waterbury Youth Services, the Waterbury Police Activity League and other organizations helped to stage the event.

Each year, about nine Financial Reality Fairs are held during the school year. Since the program was launched in 2008, it has engaged more than 18,500 students.