Montana’s credit unions recognize the need to improve financial capability among all ages in our state. Reality Fairs provide a fun, hands‐on way for consumers to learn about managing personal finances or planning for retirement.
Financial Reality Fairs
The Financial Reality Fair is a 60 – 90-minute experiential learning activity where students get a feel for real‐life monthly budgeting. They approach the fair as if they need to budget a monthly salary while paying for housing, utilities, transportation, groceries, entertainment, and some surprises along the way.
This Reality Fair is interactive, which will allow students to visit booths and acquire information and budget expenses based on interest and family size. This eye-opening experience will give students a view into what costs they can anticipate and how to budget for the future.
The Financial Reality Fair is flexible, allowing integration into any school size or timeframe.
Retirement Fairs
The National Credit Union Foundation’s REAL Solutions Program in cooperation with TruStage has developed a Retirement Fair to assist credit unions help their members and staff better prepare for retirement. The fair is designed to help people think more carefully about the type of lifestyle they would like to pursue in retirement, and then link it to their financial plan. Montana’s Credit Unions can facilitate this training for you.
Participants visit seven lifestyle booths during the fair. At each booth, they are asked a series of questions and then make assessments about how much they will most likely spend on that aspect of their retirement lifestyle. After visiting each booth they then hear how to link their lifestyle choices to their retirement savings. The fair is not just for people nearing retirement—anyone can benefit from it. It is designed to not only help people adequately save for retirement, but also to encourage people to plan for all lifestyle aspects of their retirement.
Contact Karen if you are interested in hosting a Financial Reality Fair or Retirement Fair.
If you need an account to access the members-only pages on our website, contact Beth (406-324-7457 or beth@mcun.coop).