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Approximately 30 Athens High School students recently had the opportunity to go on a shopping excursion at a local grocery store. However, these students were not shopping for themselves. They instead practiced their new budgeting skills — while giving back to the community.

Athens High School Career and Technical Education Finance Academy teachers, Brandi Foster and Shaneka Harris, received a $1,000 grant from the Athens City Schools Foundation for “Thrifty Spending,” a project to expose students to personal finance and budgeting.

According to Harris, “Many students do not have a real understanding of the actual cost of food and other items. We hope this experience opened their eyes to how helpful and necessary a budget can be when shopping.”

“Thrifty Spending” exposed students to topics such as comparison shopping, bulk and unit pricing, taxes and even the benefits of utilizing discounts and coupons to help stretch the dollar. Student groups used organization, problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork and their calculators as they made smart purchases. Items purchased will be gifted to help families in our community.

“We are excited to offer this hands-on opportunity for our students to practice everything that they have learned over the past few weeks. What a wonderful way to practice budgeting while giving back and supporting several families in our community,” said Foster.