![\"FB_Brutus\"](\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/FB_Brutus-1024x512-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAs a 14-year-old, Florida high school student Alexa Brutus is one of the youngest money masters to earn a $20,000 H&R Budget Challenge college scholarship so far!<\/p>\n
After a rocky start to the simulation, Alexa built a budget and stuck to it. That strategy paid off, and to her surprise, she was named a winner. We caught up with her to talk about applying the simulation skills to the real world and what if felt like to win.<\/p>\n
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I do, because there are a lot of financial things teens worry about, like getting a job, buying a car, getting into college and worrying about how much you\u2019re going to take out in loans.<\/em><\/p>\n My friends and I don\u2019t really talk about money unless it\u2019s about what they bought with their money. I don\u2019t talk to my parents about money much either but they have always told me I should be saving my money early on, and I took their advice.<\/em><\/p>\n Definitely! I thought it was a really cool idea and a fun thing to do. I\u2019ve never been able to play a game as part of a class assignment.<\/em><\/p>\n My goal for the Budget Challenge was to do well, not go into debt and pay all my bills. It was a little difficult to do at first, but as I progressed and I worked off a budget it got easier.<\/em><\/p>\n Kind of. My friends and I always tried to remind each other so that we\u2019d all pay our bills on time.<\/em><\/p>\n I actually learned a little bit of everything. I learned how to pay my bills, what it would be like to have all those bills to pay in the real world and how to manage a credit card and pay it off on time.<\/em><\/p>\n I feel like a lot of kids are just thrown into the real world and have a hard time managing their money. Now that I\u2019ve taken the Budget Challenge, I know a little bit more about what to expect in real life with my finances \u2014 like what kinds of bills I\u2019ll have, how to pay them, and why you should contribute to a 401(k).<\/em><\/p>\n I was in class and my teacher asked if she could see my notes from the previous week so I left my phone sitting on the table. When I got back, my friends had seen my phone and said, \u201cYou just got an email from H&R Block saying you won a scholarship!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Halfway through the game I wasn\u2019t doing really well and I was kind of surprised when I found out I won. I didn\u2019t think I had a chance of winning because I was far behind in the beginning but as it progressed I kept moving up the ranks. I didn\u2019t want to get my hopes up though.<\/em><\/p>\n I had told my parents about the Budget Challenge, but I told them I wasn\u2019t doing that well and was getting frustrated.<\/em><\/p>\n When I found out I won, I got in the car with my mom when she picked me up and said, \u201cI need to tell you and dad something.\u201d And of course she thought it was something bad! When I got home, I sat them down and showed them the email and they said, \u201cThis is real? Are you serious?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been looking at Florida State University and the University of South Florida, but now I have more options and more colleges to choose from. Right now I\u2019m not 100% sure where I want to go, but I might go into journalism.<\/em><\/p>\n * Responses have been edited for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a 14-year-old, Florida high school student Alexa Brutus is one of the youngest money masters to earn a $20,000 H&R Budget Challenge college scholarship so far! After a rocky start to the simulation, Alexa built a budget and stuck to it. That strategy paid off, and to her surprise, she was named a winner. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":26754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-purpose","category-around-block"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Do you and your friends talk about money at all? What about your parents?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Were you excited to participate in the Budget Challenge?<\/h2>\n
What were you interested in learning as part of the simulation?<\/h2>\n
Did you and your classmates work through the Budget Challenge together or was there some friendly competition?<\/h2>\n
What was the most important lesson you learned from the simulation?<\/h2>\n
Do you think you have a leg up in the real world after taking the Budget Challenge?<\/h2>\n
How did you find out you won?<\/h2>\n
What was your reaction when you found out you won a scholarship?<\/h2>\n
How did your parents react?<\/h2>\n
What are your plans after high school and how has the scholarship changed those plans?<\/h2>\n