Meanwhile, here, financial concepts are only a (tiny) prescribed part of the curriculum in maths, with maybe a smattering of mentions in other subjects. My son did not take economics or business and therein might lie a problem. However, money is supposed to be embedded in such subjects as English and science.
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Australia also no longer has a national financial capability strategy, unlike 70 countries around the world.
Yep. Mysteriously, responsibility for our nation’s money smarts was transferred from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to Treasury several years ago, and not much has happened since.
This is when over two-thirds of teachers (73 per cent) and one-third of parents (38 per cent) think financial education has become even more important in the past 12 months, found a study by not-for-profit education charity the Ecstra Foundation this year.
This belief is due to inflation and economic uncertainty, financial system complexity and the growing influence of social media and the move to digital transactions. Moreover, Ecstra’s study found teachers (98 per cent) and parents (97 per cent) want money lessons in schools.
Seventy-three per cent of parents and 68 per cent of teachers and students think this should be in classroom lessons, by far the preferred option to workshops and incursions.
Outside specialist subjects, financial literacy isn’t widely taught in schools.Credit: iStock
It all begs the question: are we really going to let New Zealand schools better ours? Because we – personally and nationally – can’t afford to.
For now, it’s clear the bulk of responsibility for children’s money smarts and for children being ever able to move out, falls to their families. Unfortunately, 24 per cent of parents report personal knowledge gaps and 16 per cent are not sure what to teach, says Ecstra.
So how can you best equip your kids for the real financial world if school is not going to? Just two basic things will make a world of difference.
The first is simply “walk the walk”. What’s called observational learning – or watching your behaviour with money – counts hugely. If you’re not great with money, maybe try and convey that you are.
But be acutely aware that digital money means kids can’t actually see much. So here’s the second strategy – and what I was doing when my son dropped his school bombshell: what I call “talk the walk”.
And that’s carefully and consistently explaining what’s happening when you make purchases without cash – when your bills are paid automatically, invisibly, when cars and food magically appear all the time to move you and feed you.
Whenever anything happens where money is in the background, just put it in the foreground.
For the above reasons, I’ve written often that I like using cash in our family where possible. But with the shift to electronic also comes opportunities … and it’s well worth mentioning to your kids that micro-saving and/or beginning to invest through an app or service, could shore up their financial future.
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at www.nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow Nicole on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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