DULUTH, Minn. — Northern Communities Credit Union and Cents of Adventure are taking what they are calling an “experiential approach” to financial education, partnering on a digital simulation that asks high school and college students in northern Minnesota to examine both the financial choices they make and the reasons behind them.
The credit union, which also uses the name NCCYou, is Cents of Adventure’s first credit union partner. It plans to introduce the simulation this fall through a yearlong pilot, the organizations said. They will gather feedback from students, educators and facilitators to refine the program.
The simulation builds on traditional “reality fairs,” where students assume fictional identities and make financial decisions based on assigned life circumstances. It retains those scenarios while adding choices involving credit and financing options and prompting students to consider how their behavior affects their decisions about money.
Developed by Educators
Cents of Adventure was developed by educators for educators, according to the organizations. The program is designed to help students connect personal finance lessons with the habits and experiences that shape their financial lives.
NCCYou has worked with schools and community organizations across St. Louis County for years, offering classroom presentations, reality fairs and other financial education programs.
“We’ve always believed financial education works best when it’s personal,” NCCYou President and CEO Trina Hoff said. She said the partnership would build on the credit union’s classroom work with an experience “built around real behavior.”
Samantha Neumann, Cents of Adventure’s co-founder and CEO, said the program was created to explore “the space between financial concepts and the human side of the decisions we make with money.”
