Meanwhile, nine-year-old Anika asks her father about the profit on a stock that she owns after learning about the volatile nature of stock markets.
These are some scenes from Indian households with 9- to 14-year-old children who have learnt the basics of finance in their schools.
Besides science, math and computers, schools these days are teaching concepts like needs versus wants, interest, inflation, budgeting and investment options, thanks to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) financial literacy curriculum from sixth standards.
Add to that a clutch of edtech firms such as BrightChamps, Beyond Skool, and Finstart which are turning money lessons into games and curriculum for children. Even Financial Olympiads are helping kids become financially aware.
This Children’s Day, Mint takes a look at how young Indians are learning to save and grow money and navigate the tricks and traps of social media influence.
Why start early?
The relationship with finance begins as soon as they see the gift money and want to buy chocolates or toys, says Chitra Sharma, whose son attended weekly financial literacy classes privately. “Relationships with finance should start in childhood, before you begin associating money with something to be just spent. Financial responsibility is conveyed by way of showing that money is the conversion of effort.”
As a result, for his milestone tenth birthday, Sharma’s son Kian skipped a grand party for an iPad, “something that lasts longer.”
Ahmedabad-based Parini Patel’s daughter Anika attends virtual sessions on financial lessons and weighs her buying decisions wisely. “Having learnt the importance of money, she now knows you need to have money to spend it,” Patel says.
In two years, her piggy bank has become bulkier as she transitioned from being a “spender to a saver”.
Inside the classroom
CBSE’s financial literacy curriculum is classroom-based, with trained teachers. The syllabus covers budgeting, investing, financial fraud, etc.
Edtech firms and private skill trainers follow their in-house modules and engage in mock-start-up investing, virtual money investments into bonds and mutual funds, and stock-market simulators.
“These lessons have enhanced their decision-making capability,” says Payal Gaba, founder of Beyond Skool, which has trained 85,000 children in top cities and is focusing on simplifying content for better absorption.
Bhavishya Chaurasia, product-curriculum head, BrightCHAMPS, an online learning platform, too, is looking to make the content interesting, “We are offering an engaging game-led platform and using storytelling activity to introduce concepts such as deep fake in financial scams, cryptocurrency, neo banks and payment frauds through gaming apps.”
One of the parents told Chaurasiya that their child, after understanding the concept of loan, purchased a gaming console with a loan from his parents and has been paying EMIs with interest.
The power of proof
And it’s not the learning alone, following it up with an action plan is what excites most kids.
In Faridabad, 12-year-old twins Ishaan and Vihaan have been diligently tracking their mutual fund account statement after they learnt about savings and investment.
“They were excited to know that as little as ₹250 can be invested in a mutual fund after their school session,” says their mother Shikha Sehgal. “Over time, when they saw their kitty grow to ₹11,000, they stopped buying toys and instead chose to give the money to me to invest.”
The power of compounding and understanding how your money can grow with the right investment vehicles have led kids to start early.
Gurugram-based Amit Gupta’s son Aarav (now 13) had a flurry of questions about the different stock exchanges in India five years ago. aimed at his father, who is a legal professional.
“The school session on stocks intrigued him. He now persuades us to dine at cheaper food outlets instead of luxury eateries. The start-up event in school inspired him to build games and earn money via subscriptions, which he gives us to invest.”
Mindful spending
Curbing unnecessary spending and delaying gratification for a reward should also be taught early on.
“Instead of the Maldives, we are happy with a Goa beach holiday too,” said 14-year-old Hritvi to her mother Sonal Raja, after tracking the entire US trip expenses two years ago.
Young Samaira convinced her six-year-old sibling to skip a toy purchase and save for something better. “Samaira is able to distinguish between needs and wants at a tender age of 10. She is aware of various investing options,” said her self-employed mother Janki Choksi.
What does it mean for parents?
A financially conscious child can help household finance in myriad ways. From discussing money openly to refraining from using money as a means to exhibit status, a financially aware child can untangle many knots.
But if parents are spendthrift, then no matter what the kids are taught in school, they would give inn to peer pressure, says Dilshad Billimoria, managing director, chief financial planner of Dilzer Consultants, a financial advisory firm. “Learning in that sense needs to be followed by action.”
And if this means learning the basics of finance yourself, don’t shy away from it. As per Priyamvada Ghia, founder of Finstart Services LLP, a firm engaged in financial education, several parents now want sessions to match what their kids are learning. The curriculum is so diverse that parents are playing catch-up.
In one instance, a child was checking the share prices of a list of companies to fill their worksheet and looked up share prices for his father’s employer. “He was overjoyed to see the firm’s name listed in the app and went back home to tell his father the company’s share price,” says Ghia.
While schools are imparting financial education and some edtech companies have opened the doors to money lessons, parents need to keep the conversation around money going.
Practising good financial habits that you preach is the best gift you can give them for the future.