Students from 16 different high schools came to the University to get a taste of what it is like to have a job, be married, have kids and pay bills.

Finance 101 was the name of the game students participated in, and the name of the committee that hosted the event, which was hosted in the Union Ballroom Tuesday afternoon.

Finance 101 teamed with the Northwest Ohio Credit Union to put on the event, said Brenda Schwind, the co-chair of Finances 101.

“Kids are given a job and go through a month of paying bills,” she said.

The event is hosted so students can understand the costs of living on their own, Schwind said.

“Finances aren’t an exciting topic so we try to make learning about it fun,” she said.

Between the 16 high schools, there were more than 650 juniors and seniors at the game and more than 260 students on a waiting list.

“We have two big events,” Schwind said. “One is in the fall and one is in the spring. The fall event is bigger but the spring event has 300 to 400 students,”

Since more than 650 students participated, four games were run by more than 120 volunteers. The volunteers lead the students through the groups and are in charge of the games.

Some of the student volunteers are there because of class.

“We work with one of the education classes … it allows the students to work with kids,” Schwind said.

One of the students, Bree Thomas, a University senior, enjoys volunteering for the event.

“It’s my second year doing this event and it’s a lot of fun,” Thomas said. “I like the game of Life.”

Finance 101 also collaborated with Student Money Management Services and the College of Business.

“Both Student Money Management and the College of Business are doing presentations in the theater while the game goes on,” Schwind said. “After students are done with the game they can go listen to the presentations.”

Students came to the event on field trips through a certain class.

“I came with my personal finance class,” said Nicole Butson, a junior from Notre Dame High School.

The game helps students learn how to budget their money and prepare as best they can for unprepared expenses.

“You have to be smart and make decisions,” Butson said.

Along with teaching students how to budget their money, it shows how expensive things can actually be.

“[The game] shows you how much everything can add up,” said Adam Panter, a junior from Bowling Green High School.

Finance 101 might make students think about how much they should save and how much they should spend.

“The game is a good way to put things in perspective,” Thomas said.