Mr. Page, 37, did not learn about personal finance in school. As a child, he had a near-death experience in a tornado that ultimately left his mother too injured to work. She had decent disability insurance, however, and his parents were frugal. His parents took the living room furniture from the destroyed house and kept right on using it until two years ago.

The landlord habit was one that Mr. Page picked up from his father, who bought and sold mobile homes and other rentals and eventually bought an apartment building. Today, the younger Mr. Page, his wife and their three children are doing well enough to offer a $500 bonus out of their own pockets to students opening a Roth individual retirement account.

None of the students have taken them up on it for the last two years, but 40 or so turned in their permission slips in time to make the field trip last Friday. They brought a work sheet with questions about loans and their terms. At the top, it said: “Today’s goal is to arm you with the resources and information to defend you against predatory lenders.” Out loud, he reminded them to be respectful of the employees at the places they were going to visit.

Stop 1 was at LoanMax, which allows people who own their cars free and clear to use them as collateral for loans. “Take charge of your life,” said business cards sitting on a counter. A half-dozen students entered the store with Mr. Page, who asked about interest rates. The person at the counter said that the annual interest rate would be 24.99 percent and that one missed payment could lead to repossession of the vehicle, a fact that shocked the rest of the students on the bus when Mr. Page debriefed them on the visit.

A different group of students spilled out at the next stop, CheckSmart, where they hoped to learn more about payday lending and tax refund anticipation loans. There, they met the coolest reception of the day. Three people were behind the counter, but one of them said that the manager was not in and that no one there had time to explain the loans because Fridays were very busy. Mr. Page relayed this to the full group on the bus, noting that the students had been the only people in the store. Much laughing and sarcastic applause ensued.