Why should Money Matters be taught in schools?

“They should teach that in school”…

A common refrain we often hear about money and young people! Last year, we made this happen in Ireland. #MoneyMatters was written, produced and three copies were distributed to every school in Ireland.

By “we”, I mean CFA Society Ireland, The Educational Company of Ireland (Edco) and our team at HayesCulleton Group.

So what happened?

📚 it’s now in its third print run.

🧐It’s intriguing to see what schools have done. For example, Sutton Park School have created a financial literacy module all around it. Larkin Community School are using it to explore enterprise and business ideas with group work and class discussions.

🙋‍♀️EdCo ran a competition for schools to win a class set and we had 81 schools, repesenting thousands of students across the county, apply for this.

🤝 We reached out for sponsors for some class sets and want to sincerely thank Eoin Diffley Irish Life Investment Managers, Sinead Wisely Utmost Group, Orla Aherne Mercer Ireland, Ross Allen, CFA, CPA Jupiter Asset Management, Larissa Feeney FCA Accountantonline.ie for their support.

We would LOVE to match more sponsors with these schools if you’re willing to help us build the financial literacy momentum across the country. Simply send me a DM and I will come back to you!

🏡 we worked with Jill Holtz and the team at Mykidstime Ltd to raise awareness with parents across the country. They also expertly gathered feedback afterwards. Parents told us they liked the “dip in and out” nature of it and that it can be adapted to various ages. Teenagers told us they liked the practical nature of it and how it was broken down so that it’s tailored to their age group.

“Money Matters is a comprehensive and essential textbook for students of all ages. It covers all areas of finance from personal budgets to business and stocks. It is presented in a thorough yet fully understandable manner for everyone”. – Jaclyn Gurulé, mother of 5 children

📒at our own SavvyTeenAcademy, we use it with lots and LOTS of our groups. Our companies provide it as part of their work experiences as it acts as a workbook for their activities, showcase different career possibilities (particularly via CFA Institute), enables zero printing and this more environmental sustainability and gives the students a tangible takeaway.

🤗It’s written as a menu so that the reader/teacher/parent could choose to use the book as they wanted. The book focuses on personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing.

❤️Each chapter highlights a character who is going through a life stage and money is influencing their decisions. Sarah is starting her first job and is wondering if she wants to just enjoy all her “new” money or start a pension. John and Irene want to move in together and are working out their (surprising) budget. Danny and Emer want to start a family and are trying to get a mortgage. The book goes on an emotional roller coaster!



Check out more details at https://www.thepositiveeconomist.com/money-matters