MADISON, Ala. - For Mrs. Williams' algebraic connections class, they're learning what it takes to be part of the real world.
All the little daily costs add up and that's what Zoe Williams is teaching her high school students.
"The simulation is set up as everyone is a college graduate and they are 6 months out of college," said Williams. "So it is now time to start paying that student loan back and before the simulation started, they had to go and choose apartments, are they going to live with a roommate, are they going to have a one bedroom furnished or not furnished."
It's all a part of an online program by H&R Block called "The Budget Challenge. It keeps score every week and shows which student is leading the class.
For some students, it's a dose of reality. "How fast the money goes...really, you're struggling to pay the bills and everything," said student Sydney Burch. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I need to get a good job.'"
While the students are in class learning, one parent at home appreciates the class too.
"There's rent, utilities, cable, internet, cell phones, insurance, car payments," said mother, Michelle Anderson. "So she's seeing how it all adds up and then at the same time, seeing the unexpected."
"I hope that they get an idea of how the real world is going to be," said Williams.