The title of today's blog entry begins with the words "Money talks..." -- that's an expression that means people with money tend to have a certain power. But that isn't the sense of the words I was aiming for -- I wanted to let you know that thanks to the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation, TD banker and HEC professor Yacine Abou and I were at FACE Elementary School this morning talking to Miss Katherine's Grade Six class about money. So you see, money talks!
Last year, Yacine and I began what was then a pilot project called "Money, What's It For?" We're back again this year offering our workshops at schools as well as at a library. As we told the students today, for a long time, talking about money was considered taboo. But we think it's as important to be financially literate as it is to know how to read and write, and do arithmetic!
The students had A LOT A LOT of questions -- and also stories they wanted to share. Yacine covered basic concepts such as where did money come from, the role of banks and the power of compound interest. We also talked about scams -- a subject the students knew a lot about! Yacine told us that in his work as a bank manager he hears a lot about scams, and that the people who tend to fall victim are often either young or old! He also explained that people need to learn more about saving money. He said that in his work, he has met quite a few individuals who have won the lottery -- and in that in almost every case, their winnings have completely disappeared within five years. Which led me to point out: "That's because they didn't have a financial literacy workshop when they were in Grade Six!"
Yacine also explained that he's met quite a few millionaires and that they all have something in common. I wonder if you can guess what that is!
... building suspense here!
DISCIPLINE! (I thought that was very interesting!) Saving -- not spending every penny we have -- requires discipline.
The students did two writing exercises. In the first, I asked them to make a list of five ways they could earn money. B (first initials only today!) said, "Play blackjack" (which made us laugh, but also led Yacine and I to share our view that most gamblers end up eventually losing big-time); S said, "babysitting"; and L suggested, "get a job." In the second writing exercise the students had to come up with a plan for sharing their money. You can tell from E's answer that she VALUES animals because she wrote: "I would give half to a charity to protect endangered animals, and the other half to protect stray animals." E's words led us to talk about VALUES. How we spend our money -- and also our time -- says a lot about what we value, and who we are.
We were super-impressed that when Yacine introduced the subject of tariffs all the kids knew what he was talking about! J gave a great kid-friendly example of tariffs: "Becaue of tariffs Oreos made in America have become pricier."
The hour passed too quickly and there wasn't time for us to answer all the students' questions. So kids, if you're reading this blog entry and you have more questions, go ahead and post them here.
Special thanks to Miss Katherine for letting us come to your class and to FACE vice-principal Ms. Voula, who actually stayed to hear part of our presentation. And of course, thanks to Blue Met and the TD Bank for understanding how important it is for us to talk openly and honestly about money.