I forgot my lunch money!” “I need a folder for math class today!” “Can I phone home and ask if I can stay after school to see the basketball game?” These types of authentic problems present opportunities to engage middle-grades students in meaningful mathematics. By establishing a classroom credit union, students can develop independence in solving real problems and model solutions used in the real world to solve similar problem. A classroom credit union also promotes the type of mathematics espoused in the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989) because it—engages students in authentic mathematics;promotes mathematical thinking, communication, and reasoning in solving problems;constitutes an ongoing mathematics activity;encourages students to verify solutions to problems;involves students with technology; andallows the teacher to be a facilitator of mathematics learning.