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| The Trial by Fire Budgeting Project just got a little more difficult. |
By Katie Jones
Learning how to keep track of finances is nothing out of the ordinary for an Economics class. Last semester’s Economics students’ first project was the Trial by Fire project. An apt name, given that the meaning of trial by fire is to test of one's abilities to perform well under pressure. The expression goes back to medieval times, when people would have to prove innocence by passing trials—such as walking across fire barefoot. While last semester’s students didn’t have to go through that particular trial, their project was still challenging.
For this project, they had to create a financial plan for their first year out of college. This plan is an extensive one. It includes sections for each student’s individual wages (based on their future job), rent, utilities, transportation, food, personal care, and more.
While not necessarily the most interesting of projects, it did turn out to be helpful to students. Lauren Dalton, a junior who took Economics last semester, said, “I found that the budgeting project was very beneficial in the end. This project gave helpful insight on how to budget for your future as you become an independent adult.”
However, as with any project, there were certain stipulations that had to be followed. For one, it was assumed that no scholarship money had been received and that no money from family members was being given. In addition, it was assumed that each person would buy their own home, without any roommates to help pay the bills. This alone would make it difficult to stay “in the black” when it comes to adding up money at the end of the year. However, this year's second-semester Economics students’ Trial by Fire project will be made even more difficult—as they will also be pretending they are heroin addicts.
The change came as a result of a cross-curricular collaboration that the 11th grade is doing, which includes Government and Anatomy & Physiology classes as well. As a result of the State Superintendent’s request that students across the state help to tackle understanding and addressing the opioid epidemic that is gripping Ohio.
To accommodate the upcoming project, the Trial by Fire project was altered to include two financial plans; one for them with the same requirements as the previous semester’s students, and one with them as heroin addicts. This will enable students to better understand the impact opioid addictions have on the economy at the individual level, from which they can extrapolate to the macroeconomic level.
Even without the added cost of heroin being added to their many costs, some students still struggle to balance the cost of essentials without going into too much debt. This added obstacle of being a heroin addict is one that is sure to bring interesting results, while also reminding students of one more reason to avoid drugs.
