“Financial literacy is a core life skill for participating in modern society. Children are growing up in an increasingly complex world where they will eventually need to take charge of their own financial future. As young adults learning to live independently, they will need to know how to budget and make wise financial choices for everyday living.  They will need to manage risks: save for a ‘rainy day’, avoid taking on unmanageable debt and provide for their old age and health care.” – excerpt from OECD, Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development.

It was way back in 2005 that OECD had recommended Governments to include financial curriculum in early school education. The reason is simple: ‘to allow children to acquire the knowledge and skills to build responsible financial behaviour throughout each stage of their education.’

From Finkeyz’s point of view, the core reason for inculcating early financial literacy runs much deeper: A financially literate (and wise) populace would lead to better quality of lives of individuals and their families, and a happy, stable community. A better world, by extension. For if everything individuals do in this world is around money, if that is managed well, our world could be a much better place.

See, families and schools form the base of early learning for children. This is where children develop their early habits, skills and influences. Schools are where they get exposed to logic, language, sciences and build foundational skills for their future careers in the industrial-technological age.

However, among a few skills, one core skill that’s seriously missed out by schools is Financial Literacy. Money skills would be required by children throughout their lives, right till the very end. These skills will determine their very quality of lives, and yet they are not prepped for that.

Money is the reason for strife and wars, anxiety and stress. It is the Number #1 concern of adults worldwide.  Finance, we shall argue, is the most significant life skill. And yet it remains neglected in the early, formative years.

Starting financial literacy early in schools leads to opportunities, values and behaviours that can eventually help build financial wisdom. Parents also get involved, and siblings too, rubbing off the necessary financial knowledge to manage the families better.  Infact with some of Finkeyz projects, the students serve as junior financial advisors to their parents!

By the time these kids grow up, the source of largest adult stress there is – money – is under control. The path is known, and there’s experience and wisdom backing the kids! 

Almost everyone we come across these days speaks of the need of financial literacy early on in their kids. And they also add “they should learn it in their schools.”

So, while there is awareness, and we think we are on the ‘verge of having financial literacy in schools’, we really aren’t there. The reasons are numerous:

Here are some reasons why financial literacy is not yet taught in schools

1. Overcrowded curricula
2. Lack of trained teachers
3. Lack of high quality, effective learning tools
4. Lack of integration with other school subjects
5. Lack of appreciation of financial literacy’s criticality as a subject
6. Lack of clarity on costs, and who will bear it – the school or the parents
7. Lack of clarity on how to go about adding financial literacy in the school structure
8. Simply, unfortunately, a lack of resolve

A couple of reasons why financial literacy should be introduced in schools.

• Financial literacy is an essential life skill that can help students make them money smart and help achieve their financial goals.
• Financial literacy education can help students develop good financial habits from an early age, such as budgeting, saving, investing and help them understand the larger economics at play.
• It can help reduce the financial literacy gap that exists among different socio-economic groups and provide access to financial education for all students.
• Practical finance projects can also benefit the families of students who are learning financial literacy.
• Financial literacy education can help students understand the importance of credit and how to manage credit responsibly.
• It can help students plan for their future, such as paying for their education or saving for retirement.
• It can help students develop critical thinking and decision-making skills, which are essential for managing their finances as well as for various aspects of life.
• Introducing financial literacy in schools can help students develop a more positive and responsible attitude towards money and contribute to their overall financial well-being.
• It can help students avoid financial pitfalls and scams and protect them from predatory lenders and high-risk investment schemes.
• It can help students to achieve a better quality of life in the future – less anxiety and stress.
• It can guide them towards achieving financial freedom and peaceful living.
• Financial Literacy can make the students life better in the future, and that of their families, and communities at large. A peaceful world!

Sharing a short clip to emphasize the point:

We, at Finkeyz, are passionate about getting schools, institutions and NGOs going with their financial literacy programs. We owe it to our kids’ future wellbeing.

Write to us to get you going!