A new plan to teach kids about money and 5 easy tips to try at home

April has been designated as Financial Literacy Month and in light of this, Montessori Australia has announced that it is partnering with Raiz Invest to help fill the gap in financial literacy education among kids.

The two will work together to develop and introduce a financial curriculum to help educate students about finances so they can build an understanding from a young age and start to manage aspects of their financial future.

Montessori Australia’s director of education services, Mark Powell says that there was a lack of “comprehensive and engaging financial education in Australian schools” causing young adults to struggle with “banking, mortgage and other practical life decisions.”

To help with this, Raiz Invest is also developing an app so school students can practise making investment decisions in a safe, simulated environment.

Money and kids in the digital age

Finance education is not often covered at school, especially topics such as investing and digital currency, so this partnership between Raiz Invest and Montessori Australia could help the process of educating students on how to manage their money and future finances.

“Our team is developing a new financial curriculum for the digital age, using a hands-on approach to learning, for which Montessori education is world-renowned,” says Mr Powell. “Not only does it benefit each individual student in their financial journey, but helps to grow the wealth of the country, boosting Australia’s financial standing globally.

Montessori Australia will have some of their schools take part in a pilot launch of the financial curriculum before making it available to all of its schools across Australia.

Hopefully the combined effort of these two organisations will greatly benefit Australian students by improving their financial literacy, resulting in a more educated Australia.

Want to start teaching your kids about money and saving? Here are 5 easy tips

• Allocate chores or jobs that your children can do to earn pocket money. This will teach them from a young age that you have to work to earn money in the real world.
• Give your children freedom on how they choose to spend their pocket money. This will help them learn about the value of money and why it is important to consider purchases before rushing into them.
• Open a bank account for your children and show them how they can save and earn interest on their savings.
• Write out a list of your basic household expenses and explain what each of these expenses is for and why it is important. For example, grocery and utility bills are things that kids don’t always understand.
• When shopping with your kids, teach them how to compare similar products to work out which one is better value. This will help them spend their pocket money wisely and also help them in the future when they start shopping for themselves.

If you are interested in opening a savings account for your child, we have some good options here for you to check out.