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Today’s Child

be better to buy a vehicle on credit vs “We need to drive a savings culture to break
buying it outright, debating whether
vehicle hire would be an option or merely the cycle of inter-generational debt”
using Uber for the odd occasion – these
are all useful ways to get kids more in PREM GOVENDER , SOUTH AFRIC AN SA VINGS INSTITUTE
touch with the realities of life.
NET WEALTH
BOOKS AND ONLINE COURSES The MoneyTime SA course also shows that earning money by working (to
There are various books on the market complete the modules) is not the only way to increase one’s net worth. Earning
that could give you some guidance interest on savings and getting a return on investments are essential ingredients
as a parent, such as Finance 101 for to achieving growth. As they complete more modules, more opportunities to
Kids, Teaching Kids about Money, invest are opened up. This section is designed to teach the kids the value of long-
Money Smart Children and Make term investing and it also makes them aware of what the risks might be.
Your Kid a Money Genius (all available
from Takealot.com), but sharing that OTHER ONLINE OPTIONS
information with kids may be a challenge. If you’re not sure about committing to an entire series of
The other option is to have them the MoneyTime SA modules, here are some YouTube video
go online. MoneyTime SA (www. channels you can try:
moneytimekids.co.za) offers a financial • Learning Mole
literacy programme for tweens and teens • Easy Peasy Finance
aged 10 – 14 years. It’s an online course • Smart Kidz Learning
that does the teaching for you – which • The Rich Dad Channel
is great for this generation because they • TEDx Talks
hate being told what to do.
This course allows kids to work through CHANGES IN ASPIRATIONS
the programme independently and there Although we can all accept that what one
are quizzes and tests that earn them generation prioritises is not necessarily something
virtual money once they have completed that will even be relevant for future generations, if the
the modules and answered the questions crisis of the pandemic has taught us nothing else, we can
– so much better than being paid for appreciate that financial stability is imperative if we want
doing chores! Their earnings go into a to live healthy, happy and relatively stress-free lives.
‘Current’ account and they can choose
to spend, save, invest or opt to donate Many school leavers, however, are questioning
a percentage of their virtual wealth to the aspirations of owning a property, driving a fancy
charities. car, embarking on a high profile (and often very
Adding another dimension to their demanding) career – and maybe even whether they
financial literacy journey is the link want to have kids or not. Some place more emphasis on
between career choices and earning having more freedom to do what makes them happy,
potential. Each child starts as a gardener. opting for a more experiential lifestyle, rather than
They can work their way up to a better- accumulating a lot of material possessions that will
paying occupation by investing in further undoubtedly weigh them down. But even this option
education. For each position on the pay must surely involve some kind of financial stability.
scale, there’s a cost to achieve a better
qualification, but the trade-off is that The bottom line is that it’s great to be ‘in the moment’,
each time a module is completed at the spending without a care in the world to achieve that ‘feel
higher level, they are paid more. This good’ factor, but adding a long-term component to their
establishes the important connection outlook on life could lead to some ‘sensational moments’
between seeing education as an further down the line, if your kids are conversant with all the
investment, and a route to earning more right strategies to make the best of the financial resources at
income by becoming better qualified. their disposal.

References: https://savingsinstitute.co.za/, https://moneytimekids.co.za/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-
child_policy, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-fertility-rate-idUSKBN2AO0UH

The Villager • Issue 8 2022 • 21