The fun way to teach kids about money

With this COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most valuable lesson it gave all of us is the importance of SAVINGS or having an EMERGENCY FUND. Who would have thought that the whole world’s economy will come to a halt? And that everyone, rich or poor, is affected. A lot of people lost their jobs, and a lot of businesses were severely affected, yung iba nga have no choice but to close shops.

That is why it’s really important to SAVE FOR THE RAINY DAYS, having an emergency fund or savings will help us in case there will be scenarios like this in the future (wag naman sana…)

I learned the value of money from my parents. Papa was a seaman and is the sole breadwinner of the family. When Papa is on board, then my mother has a monthly allowance to spend on our expenses. But when Papa’s contract is finished, he returns home while waiting for the next contract. Minsan matagal, there were times na he will have to undergo trainings again bago makasakay ulit at his own expense. So whatever he earned while he is abroad, may mga times din na nauubos. At a young age, my parents taught me na kahit malaki ang sahod buwan-buwan, hindi dapat ubusin yun. You have to save a portion of it para may dudukutin ka in case walang income in the next few months.

How to teach kids about money, the fun way.

Parents nowadays are lucky because there are a lot of resources for teaching financial literacy to kids. Pru Life UK has launched “Cha-Ching Kid$ at Home” online resources to help and encourage Filipino parents to teach key money management concepts to their children at home. This initiative was developed by Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa.

Cha-Ching Kid$ At Home is a financial literacy program designed for children aged 7 to 12. It aims to instill the knowledge, tools and practices needed to help a child become financially responsible.

Here are 5 Cool Things About Cha-Ching Kid$ At Home:

1. Interactive

Cha-Ching Kid$ At Home teaches the four key money concepts: Earn, Save, Spend, Donate in an interactive and engaging way. Based on the Cha-Ching curriculum, each guide directs parents to a relevant Cha-Ching music video, key topics for discussion, and activities to help their children put learning into practice. 

2. Free Downloadable Parent Guides

The parent guides are downloadable for free on the Cha-Ching website and can be viewed online or printed out. I

3. Free Cha-Ching curriculum teaching materials for educators

This is perfect for those planning to homeschool their kids. Parents and Educators can simply log onto the Teacher section of the Cha-Ching website to download the Cha-Ching curriculum’s master list of teaching aids, session implementation video guides, music videos, and comic books on their personal electronic devices. 

The Cha-Ching Curriculum is currently being implemented in schools across Asia and Africa.

4. Free Finance Apps for Parents and Kids

Choose from Pocket Money Manager, Family Budget Manager, and Cha-Ching Challenge. My personal favorite is the Family Budget Manager wherein you can get the kids involved in planning your family’s budget. The kids can then think of ways on how to help lessen the expenses, like saving on electricity, etc.

5. Cool Cha-Ching Characters

The Cha-Ching Band has 6 characters, all of them has different traits and spending habits. Kids can relate with the band members and learn from them.

For more information about Cha-Ching, visit https://chaching.cartoonnetworkasia.com/en/.