Financial Literacy For Kids and Teens!
The popular phrase: “Money makes the world go round," is a very relevant phrase because it's true! Money helps us to get the things we need to survive. In the older times, before coins and paper money existed, people would barter, or trade goods. Sometimes they would trade shells, loaves of bread, or cattle. Later on, they started using gold to trade with since it was a precious metal. Eventually it lead to the creation of coins. As you can guess, it was much more convenient than having to give over a whole cow!
Compared to those early years, money has evolved tremendously. While we still use coins and notes, we also use credit cards and debit cards to pay for things. But what would happen if you only spent the money you had? Eventually, it would all run out. That is why It's very important not only to save some of our money, but also to invest a part of it. By investing money, we can make it grow. For example, suppose you have an allowance of $10. If you spend all of it, by the end of the week, you’ll have nothing left over. Instead, you might only spend $5. The other $2 might go into a piggy bank for a rainy day (or instead, to a savings account at your bank), while the remaining $3 can be invested. By investing your money, you might find that the $3 has turned into $5 by the next month. This means that you made an extra $2!
There is a lot to learn about money, from how to count and measure it, all the way to learning how to invest it, track your savings and spending, and so on. Without all of this knowledge, you would most likely lose your money. There are many ways in which you can start learning about money. Remember, you are never too young or too old to start! To begin, try talking to your parents or teacher about money and finances. You could even go to a bank and talk to a bank manager. Many banks have a special section on their websites where they include several games and lessons to teach kids about how a bank works. Try setting up a lemonade stand or another small business. This will help you to learn about earning money, saving it to buy additional supplies for your business, and spending it. While most kids don’t have credit cards or debit cards, it is still important to learn about them and what they do. The stock market is another major area of the financial world that you can start learning about. Ask your teacher to set up a mock stock market in class. Each student can develop a stock portfolio and manage it over several weeks. There are several online simulations that allow kids to practice trading real stocks with play money. To get started, simply explore the money and financial resources below!
