As Lauderdale County School District eighth-graders walked through the Tommy E. Dulaney Center at Meridian Community College on Friday, they made choices. How much should they spend on clothes, after securing housing and utilities? What sort of insurance do they need? Should they buy a pet?

With companies from throughout the community assisting, the students were participating in what organizers called a Reality Fair. The event, in its fourth year, features a partnership among the Lauderdale County School District, MUNA Federal Credit Union and Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union.

Jaylon Alford, an eighth-grader at Southeast Lauderdale Middle School, was among the students participating on Friday — and he was contemplating what it would be like to try to live on the minimum wage.

“I don’t know how you would make it,” he said.

Lauderdale County eighth-graders were assigned a monthly salary amount based on the fictional educational levels they were also assigned. Jaylon was trying to get by on the salary of a high school graduate with no postsecondary education.

“For housing, I had to pick the lowest option,” he said. “So I had to get a roommate to split the bill.”

Terisa Pittman, a counselor at Northeast Lauderdale Middle School, said the fair helps to extend lessons the students learn when they take a unit in financial literacy, beginning in eighth grade.

“We want them to be able to understand financial literacy and to be able to choose a career,” she said. “We’re teaching that education is the means to having the things you need and want to support your family in the future, and to be successful in the future.”

The limitations of a salary often surprise the students, organizers said.

“They’re shocked,” said Kevin Cheatham, director of Career and Technical Education for the Lauderdale County School District. “Funds don’t go nearly as far as they think they do.”

Debbie Smith, president and CEO of Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union, noted how the fair introduces students to some expenses that they might not consider from day to day.

“The parents pay for the housing and utilities,” she said. “The students don’t even think about that. That’s just a given to them.”

Students were also required to spin a “wheel of reality” that resulted in either surprise expenses or financial windfalls, explained Brenda Coleman, who teaches technology foundations at Southeast Middle School.

Coleman noted that the wheel might land on birthday money, yard sale income or some unexpected expense such as a broken leg.

“Anything that can happen to us,” she said.

Among the many community businesses and organizations present was Weems Community Mental Health Center, where students went to debrief after visiting other booths.

“We offer these nice little stress monitors,” said Toni Lloyd, a prevention coordinator for Weems, holding up a small device as she sat at a table with Ashley Neal, public relations coordinator, and Tabatha Haven, a certified peer support specialist. The Weems staff members talked about — among other things — the importance of managing stress and handling peer pressure.

The original plan for the Reality Fair came from America’s Credit Union Museum, via the Mississippi Credit Union Association, said Bo Pittman, CEO and president of Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union.

“Our goal,” he said, “is to allow the kids to get a first look at what life’s going to be like when they graduate from school.”