Consumer Life Skills Project
Making consumer decisions can be confusing. We are overwhelmed by the sheer number of consumer choices available to us in the actual and the electronic marketplace. Smart shoppers are able to do more with their money. Their skills and knowledge increase their purchasing power. The 4-H Consumer Life Skills Project teaches 4-H members to be smart shoppers.
The Consumer Life Skills Project can be completed many ways. There is a curriculum called “Consumer Critters” that is available in the Bexar County Extension Office. It includes simulation games, video and background information. Many 4-H members also plan activities to apply their consumer skills such as planning their family holiday shopping, planning a family food budget, pooling donations to find the best possible deal for a family in need, or by preparing for the Consumer Contest.
The Consumer Contest tests buying skills by having 4-H members review buying stories, actual examples of goods and then by ranking the choices from best to worst. Older 4-H members then explain their choices to a judge. In each contest there are usually about six buying stories with examples called “classes” and members explain “reasons” to judges for one or two of them. The Consumer Study Guides help 4-H members become familiar with the goods and services they will see in the contest. You can download the guides here. See the Bexar County 4-H Events calendar for details on the contest.
The following links are all to PDF files (sizes are between 10 KB and 36 KB). Click to download the corresponding file.
