Children learn fastest and most instinctively through stories and games. So parents looking to teach their children financially literacy are in luck: there is a whole range of games, books and podcasts available that will awaken the financial genius in every child.
If it hasn't happened to you personally, then you've probably witnessed this scene at one time or another: a child stands in line with a parent at a supermarket cash register and asks them pleadingly if they can have a chocolate bar or a toy from the rack next to them. The parent replies: "No, it's too expensive." This is an important moment for the child, because it has just learned its first fundamental lesson about personal finance, namely that everything has a price.
But unfortunately, financial literacy often doesn't progress much from there. And that's not an unfounded assertion. It's the shocking finding of a broad international study published by the OECD in 2023, according to which two thirds of all adults are largely in the dark when it comes to money. The survey also found that people often fail to take advantage of the financial opportunities available to them, which prevents them from achieving the standard of living they envision for themselves.
Investment guru Robert Kiyosaki believes schools are dropping the ball when it comes to educating children about personal finance. So what is his advice to parents? They should teach their children to take control of their financial future as soon as possible. He explains how they can do this in his book Rich Kid Smart Kid, which is based on Rich Dad Poor Dad, one of the world's best-selling books on personal finance, with 40 million copies sold.
To help children continue their financial literacy journey, Kiyosaki later published Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens and brought the game Cashflow - Escape the Rat Race to the market. The latter was originally developed as a board game, but is now also available as a free online version. The aim is the same for both formats: to achieve financial freedom by investing. Kiyosaki even has some celebrity fans, such as Will Smith, who swear by his approach.
Cashflow - Escape the Rat Race is suitable for young people aged 13 and up, and has been translated into countless languages - just like the book.
Alpesh Parmar, who grew up in India, is living proof that the American dream is alive and well. And after building his fortune in the US, primarily through real estate, he decided he wanted to share his insights into financial literacy with others.
He is now doing this with the help of his podcast, Wealth Matters, and Growing the Money Tree for Kids, a book he penned with his daughters Keya and Tvisha. The book is about two sixth-graders, Kiara and Tessa, and their teacher Mr Price, who take readers on a journey through the world of finance. The girls delve into a number of complex topics ranging from inflation and compound interest to investments such as shares, bonds, precious metals, funds and cryptocurrencies.
The book is filled with fun illustrations and is suitable for children aged 8 to 12.
Save your money for a rainy day is a motto your grandparents likely lived by. But times have changed, so how do we do we save money in today's digital financial jungle? Austrians Martin Granig and Christian Schneider set out to answer that question, leading them to found Monkee and launch a savings app of the same name in 2019.
Because both men have children, they also created a hidden picture book about financial literacy called Monkee - dem Geld auf der Spur (Monkee - On the Hunt for Money) for young readers. And guess who the hero of the story is. Monkee the monkey, of course. "Raising my daughter has taught me that even very young children are able to understand complex topics with the help of hidden picture books", says Granig.
The book is ideal for children aged three to seven years. Granig recommends that people also listen to their Money Talk podcast, which provides insights into personal finance and fun game ideas for young people. Both are available in German only. Money Talk can be downloaded free of charge.
Who's best at grabbing young peoples attention? Other young people, of course. Instead of sitting around and getting bored during the pandemic, American high school student Sanika Kothari and her younger brother Jayaditya decided to share their somewhat unusual hobby, finance, with their peers.
After launching their online course, the siblings came to the attention of the Pennsylvania-based radio station WDIY. And ever since, they have been chatting about budgeting, cash and the stock market with other teenagers and renowned financial experts on the Teen Money Matters podcast. It's worth a listen for everyone who understands English.
Why is there so much gold at Fort Knox? What does money have to do with climate change? Who determines rental prices? The podcast Million Bazillion gets to the bottom of these and other important questions in an entertaining way. Ryan Perez and Bridget Bodnar, who host the show, prove that economics is anything but boring.
The show is produced by the American public media outlet Marketplace and its sponsors.
Whether it's Snow White or Star Wars, one thing is clear: stories are easier to internalise than facts and figures. Not only that, we're also able to remember them for longer. The five clever minds at Global Shapers in Lisbon decided to leverage this fact and use compelling storytelling to improve children's financial education and motivate them to save. Their book Mary and the Secret of Savings is available in 20 languages.
The Global Shapers are a network of young people initiated by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Annamaria Lusardi has spent 20 years analysing financial literacy among young people, and during that time, has identified huge gaps in knowledge. So the Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research decided she would help fill those gigantic gaps herself and wrote Il sapere che conta (Knowing what Counts), which was published in May 2024. The book is available in Italian.
"I wrote this book in a way that is straightforward enough for teenagers to read without difficulty", says Lusardi. From pocket money to buying a house and starting a business, the book provides readers with practical approaches to help them make prudent decisions. "When it comes to saving money, time is the key element", says Lusardi. Which is why it is so important to start thinking about money as soon as possible, she explains.
And here's one last suggestion: educating children about personal finance doesn't have to involve buying a mountain of books or spending hours in front of a screen. There are plenty of games you can play with them that will be just as effective. For example, why not take turns playing shopkeeper and shopper? This perennially popular game teaches children to try out different roles, do maths and reason. Alternatively, they can set up a stand in your neighbourhood and sell items they no longer need. Who knows, this might even be a way for them to top up their pocket money!
Stephan Lehmann-Maldonado is a certified business teacher, and when he's not writing about finance, for example, for his communications agency Sagbar, he teaches business to young apprentices.
