Day one: buckets of water

We like this kind of PT!

I arrive at 8:50 a.m., not quite sure what to expect. An instructor introduces himself and guides me to a room toward the back of the headquarters.

There are about 15 other teenagers sitting in rows of chairs in the center of the room. There's a table to the right with canisters and handouts. To the left there is a tent and a few other decorations.

Once we're all there, we form two lines and march military style to an outside area boxed in with ankle-high caution tape.

I can see four buckets, one at each corner. It's a water relay race. Do you want to know who won?

Every day we say the Pledge of Allegiance.

We arrive back in the room. Before we start our first lesson we get a "career" and a "pay stub." Shock! What a way to begin! Find out why.

After our first lesson, the MFCU staff brings in pizza for lunch. Now I have time to talk with the people around me and find out who they are and where they come from. "Remember to take notes during the car-buying class," I tell myself. It's a little before 1 p.m.

Searching for hot wheels

Cars: find the best car, get the best price

We each have to research the type of car we want from Internet sites that the staff members give us. Car buying is much harder than I originally thought.

They encourage us to look for used cars, because we can actually afford them. It looks like this project is going to continue through the whole week.

Loans:
When to borrow
Prevent default
If you default

To help us focus on our goals, they let us pick our favorite toy cars. I grab a truck because that's the kind of vehicle I want.

I'm still thinking about my car-buying project, and playing with the idea of credit, when it's time to quit for the day...

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