A Day in the Life of an Adult: My Visit to JA Finance Park

When I walked into Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park in Fairfax, Virginia, I felt like I had stepped into a whole new world. From the outside, it looks like a modern building. But inside—it’s a mini city, with storefronts, colorful signs, and digital stations where students like me get to test out what it’s like to be a grown-up with bills, jobs, and even kids.

From Class Lessons to Real-Life Choices

JA Finance Park is part of a program that teaches middle and high school students about money. Before visiting, students complete at least 13 lessons in class on things like budgeting, saving, credit, and taxes. At the park, they put those lessons to work in a simulation where each student is given a career, income, and sometimes even a family. Then they must make real-life financial choices—like where to live, what car to drive, and how to pay for groceries.

I met with Brett Taylor, Vice President of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, who provided a tour of the facility. I asked him what makes JA Finance Park so special. “JA Finance Park is an immersive experience… students really have the opportunity to engage in a practical, real-world experience,” he explained.

One of the biggest surprises he told me about is how students react when they first see the park. “Students are so surprised by the park. You were surprised at how big it is, right? You would never expect it to look the way that it does.”

Xander Dorsey touring JA Finance with Brett Taylor, Vice President of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington (photo credit: Xander Dorsey).

The Surprise Cost of Growing Up

But the simulation itself also packs some surprises. “A lot of students will walk out of this experience with a new understanding of what something like childcare looks like,” Taylor said. “We even hear students say things like, ‘Can I sell my kids? Can I give them up for adoption?’ And we tell them, nope—you love your kids, and you must make sure they’re taken care of.”

Taylor added, “That’s when it clicks—kids realize how expensive childcare really is and how it affects the rest of their budget.”

By the time I left, I realized being an adult is more complicated than I thought. Paying bills, covering childcare, and still having money left for fun is no easy task. But thanks to JA Finance Park, I now know a lot more about how to make smart choices with money—and maybe I’ll even be able to teach my parents a thing or two.