Why we should all learn financial literacy.

I met a teacher online last year, we became friends and partners. As with EduCare, we share the same philosophy, we want to offer the best to our children and prepare them for tomorrow.

That made us think and discuss a lot what it means, how to do it, and what are the skills we need to help them develop. We started with a startup class for kids, and continued with a programming class that we offer online.

One day we had a long conversation sharing teaching practices that worked in our classes. What I loved is I'm based in Europe and teaches mainly secondary kids, he's based in America and teaches primary students.

I was teaching blockchain and cryptocurrencies at that moment to my students, and I wanted to introduce them the concepts of investing, he explained to me how he introduced trading in his class, students would trade their places, and they would all start with the same tools and resources, and very fast, some got broke while others would find a way to get wealthy. It's all about observing the actual rules of the market and strategies. You can teach that to anyone, there is no need to make it as complex as the actual macro and micro economic systems. You can always start with the basics.

My excuse with my students was to build a cryptocurrency as groups, where they would agree on the rules (quantity, creation, value...), and then present it to the class and see who would use it and who wouldn't and understand why.

There is one thing I'm sure you agree… We should all have basic knowledge on financial literacy. But we don't teach that in school. In my case, I did it because I find it important, and also because my students ask me to do so. Some even asked me what taxes are.

I discovered teaching it inside a school, as part of the curriculum was not an easy way, or I'd have to do is inside a math exam, not with the transparent intention and explanations for my students. So he started to propose it as an after school class in his school and students loved it, now we will offer it as an online class together to families and to educational centers as an after school activity. I am super excited to start, and I made some research while thinking on the curriculum and activities.

I'll share now these reflections with you: one objective is to guide students to make responsible financial decisions, but this doesn't mean telling them what to do or not to do, as responsible decisions come with learning "how to read the room", they need to take a decision based on their current knowledge, capacities, possibilities, opportunities, risks, and they feel comfortable with. Not everybody has the same tolerance to risks and objectives, and all financial decisions depends on everyone's context and not fixed rules.

When we learn the basics of managing our finances at a young age, we are better equipped to handle the challenges that come with managing our money as adults.

While thinking of the skills and knowledge that can help them, I noted:

- how to create a budget, stick to it, and build and follow a strategy while investing

- how to make decisions taking into consideration short-term and long-term consequences

- observe and spot scams and bad investments

- consider your own situation, conditions and objectives while budgeting and investing

Through discovering what are short term and long-term investment, kids can also reflect on their short term and long-terms objectives. While at a young age these concepts might be very abstracts, they can open up their mind to building a strategic mindset and getting perspectives on their choices, not only monetary. By learning about different types of investments and their associated risks and benefits, they will have the opportunity to develop an investment strategy that works for them, they will also learn the importance of diversification and what can be wise choices when investing.

One great way to teach children about personal finance is through games. As you know, games make the learning process fun and interactive.

As I was looking for different games, I found out there is a Monopoly Junior, I played it a lot while I was a kid and didn't like it at all, but I believe it was because nobody explained me there are ways to make smart decisions. For me, it was a long and boring game, I used to prefer paying the bank and counting the money ;).

I also found Budget Blitz, The Price Is Right, Investment challenge, and Business builder, do you know about them? Do you like them, and would you recommend them? Or another one?

My objective while playing is to observe how they play and analyze together the decisions they make. By doing so, we can determine together winning strategies that will allow players to win most often and determine if the strategies change throughout the game, not through telling them which ones are the one they should choose, but through reflecting on their personal opinions and experience.

I do consider financial education is a vital tool we should teach kids. By learning the basics of managing our finances at a young age, they will be better equipped to handle the challenges that come with managing their money as adults. And while including games in the learning process, it will be fun and interactive, not only for them but also for me. Do you have other ideas to introduce to them the fundamental principles of personal finance? Or any personal experience you have with your own children you would like to share?

I cannot wait to read you :)

Gaëlle Collas,

Engineer, coach, educator, teacher for the 21st century.