Tag: entrepreneurs

Learning how to invest and manage money wisely will eventually become an important life skill for teenagers to master to achieve their goals. This becomes all the more important as India’s growth and development is going to be entrepreneurship-led in the future and learning the ropes of money management skills is very crucial at a young age.

Unfortunately, financial literacy is often left out of the traditional educational system’s curriculum. Children and teens enter adulthood without knowing how to manage their resources properly. As a result, parents are the primary educators when it comes to teaching teenagers money management skills.

Following are some ways parents can teach their kids about financial literacy:

• To start, parents can give kids money to buy food in the school canteen to be able to keep a check on their expenses.
• You can also help them understand the cost of things so that they will understand the value of money.
• Piggy banks can be a great start for kids to learn about savings. They will cut out on expenses to start saving a little every day, thus beginning their journey towards financial education.
• If kids list a few things, try not to buy them everything. Let them instead choose a few things to buy from that list. This will help them to spend wisely.
• Monopoly and other business games will also make them proactive about money matters.
• Take your kids to the supermarket, let them know your budget, and sit with them while preparing a rough list of things you want to buy in the supermarket.
• Let them know if you’re facing any financial crisis, they might cut down their expenses and learn to spend wisely on things that matter.
• Gradually introduce them to the world of investments, starting with an FD; open a bank account for them as well.
• Once they learn about the benefits of investing in FDs, they gradually introduce them to other investment instruments.
• Technology has also made investing simple with just one click, allowing consumers to invest with simplicity. Introduce your child to the concept of digital finance and help them make informed financial decisions.

Several organizations have taken the following actions to ensure that the teens are financially literate as part of the government’s financial literacy strategy.
1. Project Financial Literacy
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has undertaken a project, “Project Financial Literacy.” The project’s objective is to impart information regarding the central bank and banking concepts to various target groups, including school- and college-going children, defence personnel, senior citizens, women, and the rural and urban poor.The project is implemented in two modules. One module lets users get acquainted with the role and functions of the Reserve Bank of India. In the other module, users are introduced to banking concepts.
2. NCERT – Personal Finance Supplementary Reading Material
There are a total of 9 modules covered in this sequentially: Financial Plan, Budgeting, Managing your Money, Financing Assets, Protecting your Assets, Investing Money, Retirement Planning, Taxes & you, and Career Planning.
3. Pocket Money – the student’s Guide to Money
It is a financial literacy initiative by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM). The objective of this is to help school-going children to understand the importance of financial management and the value of money.
4. Financial Education for School Children
This material was developed under the guidance of the Advisory Committee for the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) of the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It covers modules on the following: Money Matters, Planning, Budgeting, Investment, and Stock Market.
5. Introduction to Retirement Planning for School Students
This material is developed by the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority. It aims to explain retirement and how to plan for retirement with various pension schemes effectively.
6. Commodity Futures Market for Students
This resource helps students understand the basics of commodity markets.
7. Material on Insurance for Children
The resource is available as comics and videos and is developed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). It aims to explain the basics of insurance, several types of insurance, insurance ombudsman, ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan), etc.

Allow your children to learn about money, regardless of their age. They can grow into financially responsible individuals and entrepreneurs who make sensible financial decisions with the proper guidance and healthy money management habits. Adults who are skilled at budgeting build family relationships while also contributing to economic progress.

(The writer is Co-founder & CEO, Pencilton)