The Financial Wellness Center held its own life-size version of “The Game of Life” board game on Nov. 3 to introduce students to the realities of budgeting on campus.
Some of the organizations involved included First Gen Roos, the Men of Character Academy, Campus Rec, Financial aid and LGBTQIA+ Services.
Students started reconsidering their own budgets as well.
“Maybe I should start budgeting,” said Emely Cruz, a senior in marketing, noting that while she previously didn’t feel the need for one, she recently started a new job and experienced financial changes.
In addition to the board game fun, there were also snacks, a dirty soda bar which is a trendy new beverage that includes cream in soda, and numerous prizes, one drawing happened every 15 minutes and all who played were eligible.
A second drawing could be entered for completing the game and filling out a survey of the experience. This survey was also canvassing interest in a new personal finance class, that expands on what is already offered by the Bloch School by focusing on general personal finance.
“I’m doing horrible,” said Jason Banuelas, a junior and business major, who had won a drawing but was less lucky in the game. “My first action was that my car broke down.”
Andrica Wilcoxen, the program director for First Gen Roo stressed that many departments support the event due to its impact on students. Especially First Gen Roos like the ones she works with.
The challenge and the correlations to real life were intentional, according to Anna Zimmerman, the manager of the Financial Wellness Center. The goal was that students would connect their in-game decisions with real life, especially when the unexpected happened.
“It’s a fun way to bring this concept of budgeting not just for your monthly expenses, but also across the entire semester,” said Zimmerman.
She wanted students to know that all students, even those who have graduated are welcome to visit the Office of Financial Wellness.
