What to Teach

In one day, for Talk With Our Kids About Money Day, the sky is practically the limit in terms of what you could choose to talk about. The following list is not intended to overwhelm but rather to provide a quick fertile field for your exploration and creativity. Here are some quick examples of topics you may want to talk with your students about. Take a quick look and see if anything jumps out. We have more ideas a little further along, and some complete lesson plans elsewhere on the website, but this is just to help get your thinking started—if you are wondering what possible topics to discuss.

Money in General

• What is used as money, why money has value and how you can pay for things
• Different ways to get money, concept of earning money—why some people have morethan others
• The different ways you can use money—and the choices and options you have
• Where you can learn about money—good, reliable sources of information
• Who can help if you have a money problem
• Money can’t buy happinessMaking Money Decisions
• How to make decisions about how to use their money
• Making money decisions—and learning from the experience
• The difference between needs and wants
• Why you can’t have everything you want—and the need for choices and trade-offs
• The importance of talking about money if you have questions or problems
• The importance of asking questions to get the info you need before making a moneydecisionBudgeting, Tracking Expenses, and Planning
• How budgeting can help you control your money—building a basic budget
• The importance of tracking expenses to know where your money goes
• The importance of setting goals and how planning can help you reach your goals
• The importance of planning for the unexpected and having a “reserve” or “back-up”Managing Money
• Services that a financial institution can provide and how to use those services
• Financial services and products that you can get if you are a child or youth
• How to check bank statements and importance of keeping receipts and records forpurchases
• The concept of “risk” and risks that your money and things you own can face
• How to protect personal information and records including PINs
• What are taxes, why do we pay them, and types of taxes we pay
• Why it is important not to make a money decision if you feel uncomfortable about it.

Spending Money

• Factors that can affect the decisions you make about money—e.g. advertising, peer pressure, etc.
• Money responsibilities—e.g. paying bills—and what can happen if you pay late or don’t pay at all
• Factors affecting prices and why prices can be different for the same or similar things
• Various kinds of cards—gift cards, pre-paid cards, etc.—how to use them wisely
• Ways to pay less for things
• What a debit card is and how to use one
• The common costs of running a home or operating a car
• The cost of post-secondary education and training and factors that can affect those costs
• How to follow up if you have a complaint, receive bad service, or a product isunsatisfactory
• What are the trade-offs with a money decision. Know what you are trading off—todayand in the future.
• Ways to resist temptation when there is pressure to “buy.”Saving Money
• Why saving is important and different ways to save money
• The concept of compound interest and how it can help build savings
• What a TFSA is and how it can be used to help build up savings
• What an RESP is and how it can be used to help build up savings for education andtraining.Borrowing Money
• Why and how people can borrow money
• The concept of your “credit rating” and what can affect your credit rating
• The concept of interest and the cost of borrowing
• Credit cards, how they work, and how to use them wisely
• The pros and cons of credit cardsInvesting
• The concept of investing—using money, time, technology, etc. to make something better
• Ways to invest—including investing in yourself to improve your education, training and abilities
• Types of investments you can make
• Ways to make money decisions that can help the environmentSharing
• The reasons some people need financial help
• Importance of sharing and helping others if you can
• Examples of how life isn’t always fair when it comes to money
• Ways in which you can help others in need

What If You Want To Do More?

If you have the opportunity to integrate financial education into your course or subject area, and wish to do so, there are resources to help. CFEE is working with a number of provinces to integrate financial education into grades 4–10. This program is called the Building Futures Program and work is underway in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and soon Alberta. The work is most advanced in the province of Manitoba. Each province will have its own separate website.

If you visit the “Building Futures in Manitoba” website, you will find a complete outline of a basic financial education program. You will find a “Learning Framework” identifying the target areas of knowledge, skills, and behaviours to integrate at each grade level and various subject areas—although, in this case, the courses and outcomes identified are for Manitoba. You will find Teaching Units to support teachers with integration. And you will find additional links and resources for teachers who are teaching students about money. If interested, you can visit the website at www.buildingfuturesinmanitoba.com