#ADULTING Balancing the Checks of Life

SAVE THE DATE AND JOIN US! May 7 & 8, 2026

#ADULTING Balancing the Checks of Life serves as an opportunity for our members to utilize their CPA superpowers to instill a positive foundation of financial habits with real world scenario.

In addition, it is a great opportunity to network with colleagues.

#ADULTING Balancing the Checks of Life is organized by the Branding and Community Outreach Committee who is charged with
advancing the image of the profession and the public’s understanding of the value of CPAs.

Scroll down to see booth descriptions

#Adulting is TXCPA Fort Worth's community outreach program promoting financial literacy.

#Adulting is an immersive experience simulating the challenges of adult life. Students navigate financial decisions through a randomized career, income, and family size, engaging with various booths representing everyday expenses to explore the impact of different purchase options in housing, vehicles, and entertainment in a fun environment.

#ADULTING Balancing the Checks of Life has been crafted to give participants a glimpse into life as an adult managing income and paying bills in a fun, alternative reality environment. Participants will be assigned, at random, a career and corresponding income as well as family size that may include children. They will visit each of the booths representing everyday expenses and have discretion in varying purchase options of housing, vehicles, entertainment, etc. Click here to view participant data.

Volunteer to take on a role at one of the 16 booths available where you will explain varying purchase options to the participants. For example, play the part of a car salesman who is working towards that high commission trying to sell the participant the brand new, fully loaded pickup truck versus a five-year-old used sedan. Each booth will be provided a basic set of instructions and materials. Booth teams are invited to decorate the booth and can bring giveaways for the participants but must be thematic to the booth. There will be a prize for the best booth.

At the end of the event, moderate a discussion with participants at your table. A list of suggested conversation topics will be provided.

#ADULTING Booth Descriptions

Bank

Volunteer Responsibilities:

All participants will stop at the Bank first. Review the participant card and identify the monthly take home. Ask participant’s deposit preference (checking vs savings). You should strongly encourage savings. See options below.
Explain: Let participants know they may return at anytime to transfer money from savings into checking.
Explain: At month end, participant will receive 1% interest on the ending balance of the savings account.
Explain: All participants are new bank customers and eligible for the first month savings incentive program. After visiting all booths, if participant returns to the bank and has not dipped into savings, a savings incentive bonus will be deposited to the savings account. If participants accesses money from savings to pay bills during the event, they will no longer qualify for the bonus. There is no penalty for accessing the savings funds; they just won’t receive the bonus.
Write “Monthly Income” in the ledger under the appropriate checking or savings ledger section(s) and corresponding dollar amount.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.
If the participant returns to the bank, assist in transferring money from savings ledger to checking ledger. If participant presents card with signatures by all booths, the savings interest and bonus may be deposited when applicable.

	Checking	Savings	Savings Interest	Potential SavingsBonus
Option 1	100%	0%	Not applicable	Not applicable
Option 2	90%	10%	Deposit 1% of month end savings balance as interest earned.	Deposit a$5new customersavings incentive bonus if the savings were not accessedto pay bills.
Option 3	80%	20%	Deposit 1% of month end savings balanceasinterest earned.	Deposit a$10new customersavings incentive bonus if the savings were not accessedto pay bills.

Chance

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to have all participants spin the Chance Wheel.
Each participant will spin the Chance Wheel to reveal their chance outcome, either a favorable bonus of money or an unexpected expense.
Please have the participant write in “Chance (specify type)” on the bank ledger for their chance outcome and assist in calculating the addition or deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

Chance Outcome	Bonus	Expense
Your grandma sends you a birthday card with cash!	$50
Your doctor’s office made a billing error three months ago. They send you a refund check!	$30
Your friend buys a scratch-off lottery ticket and wins! They share the jackpot with you.	$50
You win a raffle and take home a cash prize!	$100
You find a $20 bill in the pocket of an old pair of jeans!	$20
You wake up with a bad case of allergies! Go to the pharmacy and buy a bottle of Zyrtec.		$20
You drive over a nail! Go buy a new tire.		$100
Your garbage disposal breaks! Call the handyman to come fix it.		$75
A family member gets lice! Go to the store and buy lice shampoo.		$25
You accidentally leave your jacket on the bus and lose it! Go to the store and buy a new one.		$30

Charitable Contributions

It is your responsibility to collect charitable contributions from all participants.
Use the charity booklet provided to review options with participations.
Please have the participant write in “contributions” on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

Recipient of Donation	Recommended Monthly Donation
Religious Organization	10% of monthly income
College Alumni Fund	$10 per month
Habitat for Humanity	$10 per month
Humane Society of North Texas	$10 per month
Meals on Wheels	$10 per month
Ronald McDonald House	$10 per month
Salvation Army	$10 per month
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital	$10 per month
Tarrant Area Food Bank	$10 per month
Union Gospel Mission	$10 per month
Other	$__ per month

Charitable Contributions full document

Child Care

Volunteer Responsibilities:

Review the participant’s family status and salary to determine if there is an opportunity for a "stay at home" parent
- Family status will show “M” for married, but a 2^nd salary will be $-0-
Review the participant's family status for kids and determine if child care is needed.There will be no kids or 2 kids (+K2 under family status).
Inquire as to the age of the kids. Participant may decide how old. Review the options and corresponding costs in the visual aid supplement with the participant.
- Kids 4 years and younger can go to daycare or have a nanny

Kids 5 to 12 years will only need afterschool care

Have the participant write in "Child Care" on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deductions from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant's card to indicate that the participant visited the booth. Write N/A on the participant card if no kids or chooses to use a stay at home parent.

Note: A financial advisor may require a participant to return to your booth and exchange the type of child care if money wasn’t spent wisely. For simplicity of this exercise, return the previously selected child care for the full payment and deduct the new child care cost.

CHILD CARE OPTIONS

YMCA			1 Kid	2 Kids
Afterschool Care	5-12yr	3:30pm-6:00pm	$ 75	$ 150

City of Arlington			1 Kid	2 Kids
Afterschool Care	5-12yr	3:30pm-6:30pm	$ 220	$ 440

Daycare Facility			1 Kid	2 Kids
Infants	> 1 year	6:30am-6:30pm	$ 1,228	$ 2,456
Toddlers	1-3 yr	6:30am-6:30pm	$ 1,160	$ 2,320
Preschool	4 yr	6:30am-6:30pm	$ 1,052	$ 2,104
Afterschool Care	5-12yr	2:30pm-6:00pm	$ 325	$ 650

Nanny - In Home Care			1 Kid	2 Kids
In Home Care	7:30-5:30	All Day/All Ages	$ 2,800	$ 5,600
Afterschool Care	3:00-6:00	All Ages	$ 840	$ 1,680

Clothing

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to make sure all members of the family are accounted for in the clothing budget for each participant.Refer to the participant’s card for family status code.

M	Married, no kids
S	Single, no kids
M+K2	Married, 2 kids
S+K2	Single, 2 kids

Each participant will choose a clothing category for the adults and children separately.If they would like to do luxury for one and budget for the other, they can.
Please have the participant write Clothing-Adults and Clothing-Children on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate the participant visited your booth.

CHOICES	AMOUNTS (Per Person)
Garage Sale/Thrift Store
Adult	$10
Child	$5
Budget
Adult	$50
Child	$40
Department Store
Adult	$135
Child	$110
Luxury
Adult	$320
Child	$245

Note: A financial advisor may require a participant to return to your booth and exchange the clothing if money wasn’t spent wisely. For simplicity of this exercise, return the preciously purchased clothing for the full amount and deduct the new clothing cost.

Communications
Volunteer Responsibilities:
- It is your responsibility to sell the participant a communications package. See visual aid supplement for pricing.
- Please have the participant write “Communications” on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
- Initial the participant’s card to indicate the participant visited your booth.
Download Communications Visual Aid
Doctor
Volunteer Responsibilities:
- It is your responsibility to collect doctor fees from all participants.
- Review the participant card/ledger to determine whether the participant has purchased insurance and which type(s).Subject to pricing below.(Participant may not leave to buy insurance and come back if not already obtained.)Reference the medical code on the participant card to the chart below.
- Please have the participant write in “doctor” with description on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
- Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.
Download booth description with visual aids

Entertainment

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to discuss entertainment options with all participants.
Each participant will either choose to purchase entertainment or choose the free entertainment option.
If a purchase was made, please have the participant write in “Entertainment (specify type)” on the bank ledger for the type purchased and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

Entertainment Type	Adult	Child
Putt-Putt Mini Golf	$9	$7
Alley Cats Laser Tag	$9	$9
AMC Movie Theater	$14	$11
Fort Worth Zoo	$16	$12
Kimbell Art Museum – Special Exhibit	$18	$14
Kimbell Art Museum – Kimbell Collection	Free	Free

Financial Advisors & Supplemental Income

Volunteer Responsibilities:

Participants may visit your table if they run out of money before all their bills are paid.
Review the participant’s card and bank ledger.Discuss their spending choices and whether they were financially sound decisions.If no adjustments are necessary, send the participants on their way.
At your discretion, you may send the participant to trade purchases in the following:
- Child Care
- Clothing
- Housing (and related utilities if changing from house to apartment)
- Transportation
If a trade is not relevant to the situation or not enough cash flow, you may issue the participant a second job.Write in “SOS 2^nd Job (specify type)” on the bank ledger and assist in depositing the additional take home pay in the bank ledger for the checking account.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

SOS – Second Jobs	Monthly Gross	SS	MC	FIT	Monthly Take Home
Uber Driver ($10/hr) – 10 hrs / week	$400.00	$24.80	$5.80	$40.00	$329.40
Walmart Retail ($7.25/hr) – 16 hrs/wk	464.00	28.77	6.73	46.40	$382.10
Tutor kids ($20/hr) – 8 hrs / week	640.00	39.68	9.28	64.00	$527.04
Uber Driver ($10/hr) – 20 hrs / week	800.00	49.60	11.60	80.00	$658.80
Dog walker ($20,30 min) – 1 hr/day	1,200.00	74.40	17.40	120.00	$988.20

Furniture
Volunteer Responsibilities:
- It is your responsibility to collect monthly furniture payments from all participants.
- Use the furniture pricing chart and picture booklet provided to review options with participations. The participants may select the following furniture packages: Luxury, Midlevel, or Walmart.
- Please have the participant write in “furniture” on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
- Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.
Download Furniture Booth description with visuals

Grocery

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to collect monthly grocery payments from all participants.
Please have the participant write in “Grocery” and specify level selected on the bank ledger.Assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

The following pricing is based on the USDA Food Plans. All meals and snacks are prepared at home.

Thrifty Plan – Uses the prices low-income people paid for many foods. This plan is the basis for maximum food stamp allotments. Plan provides a representative healthful and minimal cost meal plan that shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources.

Low Cost Plan – Purchase store brands for basic foods. The Plans offer a more realistic reflection of the time available for home food preparation; hence, each plan incorporates more prepared foods within the recipes and requires fewer preparations from scratch.

Moderate Plan – Purchase name brands for basic foods. The Plans offer a more realistic reflection of the time available for home food preparation; hence, each plan incorporates more prepared foods within the recipes and requires fewer preparations from scratch.

		Monthly Costs - Plans
Participant Code	Size	Thrifty	Low-cost	Moderate
S	Single	179.30	233.90	289.80
M	Married	358.60	467.80	579.60
S+K2	Single, 2 Kids	435.30	574.30	705.80
M+K2	Married, 2 Kids	614.60	808.20	995.60

Housing
Volunteer Responsibilities:
- It is your responsibility to help all participants find housing and collect the total monthly payment. Review the housing options and related costs (loan, taxes, insurance, etc.).Participants may select a single family home, condo/townhome, or apartment to fit their family’s needs.
- Please have the participant write in “Housing” with description of selection on the bank ledger. Assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
- Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.
Note: A financial advisor may require a participant to return to your booth and exchange the selected housing if money wasn’t spent wisely. For simplicity of this exercise, return the previously selected housing for the full payment and deduct the new housing cost. If the change is between a house and an apartment, refer the participant to the Utilities booth for revisions. If new the housing is within the same category as the previous (house vs condo/apartment), no need to revisit Utilities.

Download Housing options

Insurance (Medical)

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to collect insurance premiums from all participants.
Due to federal regulations, purchase of health insurance is required.The other types of insurance are optional.
Please have the participant write in “Insurance (specify type)” on the bank ledger for each type purchased and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.

Required	Monthly Premium
Required	S	M	S+K2	M+K2
Type	Single	+Spouse	Single+Kids	Family
Health Insurance	$1,000	$2,200	$2,700	$3,200
Employer pays 75% of employee only	($750)	($750)	($750)	($750)
Monthly Premium Due	$250	$1,450	$1,950	$2,450

The following insurance is optional and not paid by employer:

*(Optional)*	Monthly Premium
*(Optional)*	S	M	S+K2	M+K2
Type	Single	+Spouse	Single +Kids	Family
Dental Insurance, includes: Semi-annual dental cleanings Annual xrays for bitewings $150 discount on fillings	$20	$40	$60	$80
Eye Insurance, includes: Annual exam (requires co-pay) Up to $150 toward frames and 20% off anything over	$10	$20	$30	$40
Life Insurance, 20 yr policy, $500,000	$25	$50	$75	$100

Salon & Barber

Volunteer Responsibilities:

It is your responsibility to make sure all members of the family are accounted for in the Salon & Barber budget.Refer to the participant’s card for family status.

M	Married, no kids
S	Single, no kids
M+K2	Married, 2 kids
S+K2	Single, 2 kids

Each participant will choose an option for the adults and children separately.
Please have the participant write Salon & Barber-Adults and Salon & Barber-Children on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant’s card to indicate the participant visited your booth.

CHOICES	AMOUNTS (Per Person)
Haircut
Adult	$25
Child	$15
Haircut, Shampoo, & Style
Adult	$70
Child	$30
Hair Braiding
Adult	$150
Child	$50
Manicure & Pedicure
Manicure – dip powder	$50
Pedicure	$50
DIY at home mani/pedi	$10

Transportation
Volunteer Responsibilities:
- It is your responsibility to sell all participants a vehicle for transportation. Review the vehicle options and related costs (tax, title, fees and monthly insurance).
- Please have the participant write in “Transportation” with description of selection on the bank ledger. Be sure to deduct the monthly vehicle payment and the monthly insurance payment. Assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
- Initial the participant’s card to indicate that the participant visited your booth.
Note: A financial advisor may require a participant to return to your booth and exchange a vehicle if money wasn’t spent wisely. For simplicity of this exercise, return the vehicle & insurance for the full payment and deduct the new vehicle and insurance.

Download Transportation Booth details

Utilities

Volunteer Responsibilities:

Make sure the participant has visited the housing booth before determining utility costs.
Review the participant's housing choice.
- If house, use the expense amounts in the housing box below.
- If apartment, use the expense amounts in the apartment box below.
Have the participant write in "Utilities" on the bank ledger and assist in calculating the deduction from the checking account when needed.
Initial the participant's card to indicate that the participant visited the booth.

HOUSE		CONDO/APARTMENT
Electric	170	Electric	110
Water	85	Water	27
Gas	52	Gas	25
Trash	18	Trash	13
Total Monthly Cost	$ 325	Total Monthly Cost	$ 175

Note: A financial advisor may require a participant to return to exchange housing if not selected wisely. If the change in housing affects the type (House vs Condo/Apartment), the participant will revisit your booth to adjust utility costs. For simplicity of this exercise, return the previous utilities payment in full and deduct the new utility cost.