(@04jbarnes)Have you ever thought about the every day stress of managing money as a future adult? Well, if you are taking any type of business class, you are getting a taste of that horror.

The Budget Challenge is a website that provides you with real time learning experience on how to pay your bills and what vendors you want to pick.

It is a learning experience that business classes around school compete to win.

The goal is to obtain trophies.

Each trophy will be earned depending on what financial task is completed. In order to pass the challenge you need six of those trophies, but each one focuses on a different part of money management.

Some students believe that the budget challenge is somewhat useful, but not realistic at all. Sophomore Silas Raphaelidis said, “In real life, you would be more careful with the payments you pay.”

Junior Dylan LaVern said, “It does make you pay bills, but like it’s not real money so it’s not realistic.”

Some things can’t be replicated through an electronic interface. The goal of the budget challenge isn’t to give you a full fledged experience of the adult world, but to give you an experience that can prepare you for some future financial struggles.

Although the budget challenge may be interpreted as unrealistic, some teachers made this as a competition. Ms. Elsemore, for example, expressed her competitive style for coming out on top.

If you are interested in this, get your teacher to join this challenge with this link. The budget challenge doesn’t require much of your class time. You may only need to take five minutes every day to see if you are up to date with your payments. Students can also do this outside of class, any time, every day, even from your phone (Please read their website to learn more).

This challenge, however, requires a teacher and a class because it was made for students to better themselves in everyday living.

As high school students, your time to be a kid is limited, and your chance to prepare as an adult is also limited. Therefore, when something like a budget challenge comes around, it is a free opportunity to learn a bit of what it means to be a adult.