The Johnson County Extension Council identified acquiring basic life skills as a program priority for the 2017-2018 Plan of Work. To address this need, local schools, teachers and extension personnel worked together to provide an opportunity for local students to attend the 4-H Dollars and Sense Workshop. This was a free workshop hosted at the Johnson County Extension Office and was designed to encourage youth to earn good grades in school, finish their education and practice budgeting skills. In attendance were 219 youth participants and 18 teachers and youth volunteers. The participants arrived with their calculated GPA's and were given an allowance based on that GPA that they then proceeded to budget and spend as they traveled to several vendor booths that sold both needed and wanted items. All participants were also required to be responsible for a pet and costs associated with pet ownership. Youth were introduced to the necessity of paying taxes and visited the "Uncle Sam" booth to pay taxes on their allowance. Other booths included pet care, transportation, entertainment and the discount store. There was also a "chance" booth where youth drew for an unexpected life expense that they had to pay for and incorporate into their budget plan. If participants ran out of money, there was an SOS booth to visit to help them trim their expenses. In the final wrap up, discussion was held about the importance of good grades and how that related to earning KEYS money to help pay for college expenses. A survey was administered to collect information on what was learned from the process and the following results were reported: there was an increase of 56 % in knowledge of budgeting money, 54% in knowing how to make wise financial decisions, 51% in understanding the link between my career choice and lifestyle, 51% in what it costs to maintain a household, 34% in what it costs to raise a child, 54% in how the amount of money made will influence lifestyle and 53% in the knowledge of saving for future economic goals. The program met the objectives it was created to meet and it has been requested again for next year with additional planning activities to be offered in the classroom prior to attending the workshop.