Freshmen at Harlan County High School received a large dose of reality on Thursday as several area businesses assisted with the 21st annual 4-H Reality Store.

Approximately 350 students participated in the program, which is designed to help teenagers learn budgeting and how their career choices will affect their lifestyle as adults.

Students experienced how expenses and necessities, as well as luxuries, must be balanced with the reality of monthly incomes. One ninth-grader, according to 4-H director Raymond Cox, asked “where did all the money go?”

“You can see it in their faces when they realize their D average is not going to lead to a prosperous career and job,” said Holly Evans, a college and career guide with the Gear Up organization at Harlan County High School.

They also learned the need to budget and to work to get qualified for a career that may lead to a prosperous job. Students who had money left at the end of their monthly expenses received a Pay Day candy bar and those who were broke received a Zero candy bar.

“Some students say they are going to start working harder to make better grades as they learned how expensive it is to make it from pay day to pay day and how expensive children are when following a budget,” Cox said.

The program was also held on Nov. 9 at the Harlan County Depot for 30 students from the Challenge Academy and 50 freshmen from Harlan High School.