 Now, financial literacy is the ability to make financial responsible decisions as a part of your everyday life, from saving and investing, to spending, earning and borrowing. Now being able to manage money effectively demands a sophisticated set of skills, ranging from basic mathematical skills to budgeting and understanding of how interest works and emotional, what's it called, regulation to avoid splurging. Now, today we're asking how can we bring, or rather how can we begin to imbibe financial literacy in our children. Now, please let's hear what you have to say. Remember, you can join the conversation, send us an SMS or WhatsApp to 1-803-466-FAKE and also to tell us at WESHO, after one with the hashtag WESHO. So, I don't know about you guys, but I am, you know, trying to make sure that, you know, all the children around me, they are learning soft skills. Every one of them, registering them online, go and learn soft skills and just try to see how you can start to earn money, you know, using different kind of skills, coding, whatever it is that you want to do. What's your thoughts, really? Okay, so, I mean, you know, you know I'm in this space, so this is an exciting topic for me. I think beyond, the popular narrative has been that, you know, make money. You know, musicians think about it, make money or die trying and all that. And we see a lot of young people. I mean, you cannot take away from the fact that a lot of young people are trying so hard, you know, to make money, regardless of what they have to do. But financial literacy is so much beyond making money. When we're teaching children about money, when we teach them about their abilities to earn or how they need to earn, what they need to do to earn, we must also teach them the principles around managing and multiplying money. And that is when we are talking about financial literacy. We must begin to talk to them about the principles. Again, we have to come back to the fact that, to the point of, who is teaching who? Because if you, as a parent or a guardian, you do not even have the first knowledge about financial literacy, you cannot pass that knowledge. Your understanding, your belief system about money, sorry, your belief system about money comes from what you know. So if you have the wrong value system. What you practice. Exactly. If you have the wrong value system, it goes to say that what you will be teaching would be based off what you know, and that may not necessarily be true. So again, I would say that children, the focus shouldn't be just end money. The focus should be understand the value of money. Understand what needs are, you know, learn to differentiate between needs and wants. Learn to manage money. Because, I mean, as an adult, even as a child, you're growing up, you go to school, you come out of university early, you go to a good job. Sometimes it doesn't take you. Some people are so lucky. You can make millions in the blink of an eye. But the question is how many people have been able to retain those millions? That's the problem. How are you? Make money. I'm not going to take you from the kids' point of view because I ain't got kids. I don't know. Don't worry. No, no, no. I'm going to tell you. Don't come and share your problem with us. I'm not talking about my adult years. I'm talking about my growing up. Okay, go ahead. I don't. Then come on. Enjoy it. Let me make it exactly. So this is what I'm trying to say. So for me, I grew up not being taught how to save money. How to. I just knew that you needed to have money in order to survive whatever situation you were going through in order to even leave. So for me, from a very young age, I decided I wanted to have money. I wanted to be able to make money, invest money, and be in money because I love to travel. So I wanted to start saving early. And I remember the first time my father gave me steep ends, allowance. And he asked me, he just asked us and he said, what are you going to use that to do? And I said I was going to use it to open an account. And he said, oh, no, I'll give you money to open an account. He never did. But I used, I didn't listen to him. I used that money to open an account. And I'm proud to say that one of my longest standing accounts is that account that I have been using for years. It has just gone, you know, it was bought, but that's one of my private accounts that I've been using to save money for years to do a whole lot of other things that I do apart from work and all that. So it's one thing to know. Don't get sent from a young age. No, I just wanted to have money because I wanted to travel. And I knew that that cost money. So the part of investing is a long, you know, while as I grew up that I made, you know, things that your education in terms of television and what have you, you see how people make money. You ask some small questions that might sound unwise at the time, but you realize that you need to save in order to make money. So for me, it was a personal experience and a personal journey all through. But there are still things that I wish I had like budgeting, managing debt and all that. Kathleen is here. Kathleen is the founder and the GMD, Kudimata, Nigeria Ltd. Penyo Consult Ltd and Poi Finishing School. She was the Executive Director, Chief Marketing Officer at Hope PS Bank and the Deputy General Manager at Keystone Bank, Nigeria Ltd. She also worked in Keystone Managerial Positions, also at Access Bank also for 15 years, extending her extensive banking experience to about 26 years. Kathleen has established herself as a change agent by promoting basic financial education in Nigeria through her institution, Kudimata, a financial community where money questions, problems and concerns are addressed. And today, she's joining us from the UK as she's not alive with us in the studio. Hi, Kathleen. Hi, Gauha. How are you doing? All good, all good, all good. It's been an interesting conversation I've been listening. You guys are done with the session. I'm not sure what I would say. No way. No way. You can teach us some new things, I'm sure. Right? No, no, no. You cannot go home. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Kathleen. Right now, I need you, mother. You need me. $1.00 is $100,000 and the, what do you call it, $55,000 nera. $10,000 nera, $1,110,000 nera. Certainly $110,000 nera, Kathleen, I have high BP. Even that man that was asking for BP. So that man that was talking about BP, it's going to the wrong space to go and check for BP. You should just look for parents that are paying school fees. That's like an on the side just to make light of the situation but truly right more than ever before I see the need to translate financial literacy in the most practical way for our children and because again not because of you know like with the situation getting tighter tougher things getting a lot more expensive right I was just thinking how do we solve some of these financial challenges that you know we do not get to adult age and it's now problem for us because I think I mean like NJ rightly said imagine if certain things she was thought at a younger age I mean she did a few things based on native knowledge but imagine if someone truly put her through to say you know what this is the approach this is this this is that this is how you can convert your skills so we're talking financial literacy right there's the part that you first of all must earn money right then you must find a way to then invest the money and you find a way to manage the money or spend the money or budget the money right literally yeah so if we are talking about children of today what would financial literacy mean to them and how should it even begin to approach financial literacy so financial literacy to children of today so maybe the definition of who a child is or who should actually be financially literate I think maybe we start from there yeah for as small as a child preschool child who you would give money or you ask how much because every small children are there aware of what money is what's because they will tell you give me two money they'll tell you give me two money a child will tell you how much do you want to say give me two money which means that that two money one is for use one is for keep so you can actually do age appropriate training for those um that class of children you have two money keep one and use one to buy lollipop or lollipop sweet so for children it is actually um giving them the skills the ability with any money they get and given to them by aunties uncles anybody learn how to make wise financial decisions okay instead of buying bugger I want to keep this money somewhere first my biggie bank just put it there those are the little little little little ways we can start and it's important not only from home at school level at preschool level basic financial skills on money matters are taught it is very very crucial that this understanding because he helps the child build that foundation that will guide the future make the child even responsible when it comes to money matters and their demands because nowadays these are our children they are very very what's that word um what's that I think they are they depend so much on you they are um they don't even think they are very entitled whether you make it or you don't make it they just think that it is their right to have what they need they did not ask to come to this word Kathleen now it should be your right no no it is their right it's your right with what you have to give to them not that what they are never have because they've seen what they are never have or what they bought bugger for one child so they say okay man it's your turn to buy me bugger because they bought bugger or they bought one shoe for one I know I want that kind of shoe no but with that skills understanding managing your money matters as it relates to your your own little conco family is actually very good let me go back to what you said about curriculum right in the schools because I know that in certain schools especially in what's it called in the western world you see them teach them so for instance they go and do baking they go door to door they knock they say okay they are trying to sell out so they do a big sale thank you so you see that they learn how to end from small from small they learn how to end in the western world still they still teach them it's part of curriculum so are we imbibing those curriculum in our schools today you know yeah it's not here it's not of what we need to push to ensure that even if you don't even put it in curriculum you invite people to come and teach you create scenarios opportunities where you can interact with these children age appropriate on money matters it's never too early to start because it is the foundation that that child would have as they grow up and that's what we help to shape the future for these children so it is very very critical that it is started at an early age those principles those rules those values those little little things that you think is not important our children nowadays they carry iphone when they start to walk can they afford it ha problem let's go on a break we have started them on wrong parts what and it can they afford it no a young graduate will end between a hundred and three hundred at best case scenario you know by any iphone no on that note maybe take break because this one a problem why we come back from that break we'll continue this conversation stay with us all right thanks for staying with us now if you just tuned in we're discussing financial literacy for children let us say and we have a remote Kathleen on my mother and please let's hear what you have to say remember you can join the conversation send us an sms or what's up to do it one eight zero three four six six three you know when Kathleen mentioned that iPhone maternal just hide my head and the truth is they can't afford it because if you want to buy an iphone now you are looking at maybe from 300 000 and above like the older model newer models are like 800 000 a million and if your child is already using an iphone at 11 or maybe 12 or 10 you know you don't expect the child to go to a 33 10 when they eventually graduate and you know they cannot afford it but let me hear your question to Kathleen okay so i know that in 2017 the nigerian educational research and development council and the central bank of nigerian collaboration with other financial institutions moved to develop like a teacher's guide you know to inculcate the financial literacy into scope programs so my question to Kathleen is um did this um you know did this um policy did it is it effective is it because i know for now you know um public school systems do not have anything around financial literacy now um anything you you see schools doing around financial literacy it's probably the provider or the principal being you know exactly partners and then says okay you know let's come and teach you guys and all that so um i think that um if in adopting this this is the best way because again like she said um you cannot give what you don't have you you cannot teach what you don't know so the first step would be to teach the the teachers you know to equip them with the principles of you know financial literacy so that it can pass it on to the student so Kathleen is in this space um do you know if um the government's you know followed and followed through with this policy she said no dinner she'd be answer you so Kathleen so what do we do then i mean is there is there a way to advocate more for this or what you know to be brought back and then become for conversation for now because again we must look at how much people are suffering that's at the core of everything people are experiencing now is money financial hardship is financial hardship so if financial literacy it would make them even understand a lot better and know how to handle things it's not anywhere but um i have been speaking with some key stakeholders to see how we can push it into the curriculum and not just the curriculum um today we push financial inclusion financial inclusion financial inclusion is better product they are products so say for example you teach mama already open account mama opens account mama is not taught anything mama goes to uh eight o'clock to want to withdraw money because all mama's money nice in bank mama does not know what to do mama sees boy in front of it here my picking help me do this thing mama wait a bit up here mama gives pink to um boy and money money is gone that's why you see a lot of um people they unbent who have now been included come to the banking house of uh banks client looking for their funds because they have been fraudulently dealt with so financial literacy in Nigeria in Nigeria at the moment is less than less than 20 percent so actually with me too everybody everybody including me and you need to actually improve on our financial literacy level so it is open there are um are venues i say i do financial literacy i have a community where i push and push and i'm basically pushing from young adults the coppers at the moment on financial literacy i am promulgating that all coppers must even be financially literate some form of certification even before they leave uh um the camp and then they are educators within their geographies and because if they are educators within their geographies they are able to impact this bit of knowledge and then the parents and teachers they are equipped enough with that basic understanding to help the little ones to handover them to teach them oh no this is what you do oh okay so uh you can bake little cake or you can do this i take my daughter for example i've been teaching her okay so she does beads beadwork and she does artwork which she finishes like you have to sell it and this and this and this and you do it you have to make profit this is what and she you have to just do it and put your money cocoa say this and this what you apply back you'll be um amazed that this is even for the um unbanked or the i don't know what that to call it the um i don't know the what how to term it that class of people there are younger ones that are even supported in the market in all of all those small msm and sms they even learn they are a lot more financially literate than are people that have gone to proper schools who have no knowledge no understanding but just sense of bit of entitlement and to demand demand demand so we all need to everybody need to learn small everybody everybody there are platforms come to kutimata you will learn there are little quizzes that you would have you would um go through the quizzes they understand you would learn from them because there are options and then you try when you make a mistake you try and you learn there are books around and there there is a must do and it's critical at this stage for just not a individual self for for the country at large because it will financially literate to a certain level we are able to manage and make better decisions better that would help us so for me i'm just everyone of us and the country at large because they say is one step to another a child to a parent and to the country okay all right yeah go ahead kill them loves for me i'm just going to piggy off what she has said a lot of things and that's one of the questions i wanted to ask that um majorly because i just checked on google and it says um our current financial literacy is about 64.1 percent so i'm just wondering for people like us because they're a lot more they said there are a lot of views but i feel like they're a lot more older generations that are not into this financial thing they don't even understand what it is like even for me it took a while to understand what i can say that i thought so i learned some things along the way but when it comes to things like should you borrow should you not how should you borrow how should you go about it when you want to borrow because that is those are the issues that people get into now when they want to do business people borrow money from the bank and they don't do a lot of calculations knowing that okay the bank is going to take interest you know and a few other charges and everything so how am i going to pay back how am i going to invest and it even stops you from being able to do proper budgeting you know so for me what i wanted to ask was how can parents immediately start teaching their children because things like borrowing and budgeting how do you teach you know saving very easy like you like you know like she rightfully gave an example two naira one naira one one money one money so they can understand that but at the at what point do you start teaching the main things which is like managing debt invest borrowing investing at what point do you start teaching now you can teach how to save from a very young age piggy bank and all that but how do you start teaching them investments yeah you can actually teach step from that child too that sharing you know when you share it's almost like you borrow and then you get it back give you your my your toy to play and then you get it back it is actually a form of borrowing and then getting it back but a child will not really really really borrow until they get to a certain level in school you can simulate a borrowing part of the teaching process that you can use to educate these young ones is to particularize them at home simulate those situations for the children and then they learn your child wants a phone okay so let me use my daughter for example she wanted a phone she gets our monthly allowance i reduced it the monthly allowance and i spread it over a period of time taking out a certain sum because as far as i'm concerned that was boring so she had to reduce what she typically would use money for to accommodate the cost of the phone and that's what you we go to banks to go and collect loans for household and equipment things your tv your radio your generator your fridge you would have done that so it is from small you start to learn how to reduce that expense because actually that's how it starts you learn how to leave you remove those excesses remove those luxuries and learn to set aside okay so let's go back to skills right because again some children don't really have people around that give them those free money you don't give them free cash and all of that but they have certain kinds of skills right what would you say that you want to start to encourage parents to do when it comes to right like upscaling the the the child so that at least you know the child can start to see ways to earn money i mean my my son was giving me a beautiful analogy this this afternoon i say ah so you did i say yes a beauty community in school a particular beverage is very scarce but milk is very very is free is so they do this kind of exchange for you to join the community first of all deposit for milk i mean our two milk if you are living in community deposit for milk as you know be smart you know you say yes i it was telling me proudly that i had built that community so me and i told him i say uncle that one is a such a such a meek and beverage i can we convert that to nara and cobo do you understand so how do we save that model and bring it into making real funds you know because it wasn't such a beautiful model and i say so what are you doing how do they make this i have to they do it kept on explaining it how the and the thing has been working in his school you know but so so now he has that kind of a skill how does he convert that skill into like making real money so how do we build those kind of skills in our children because you first of all need to earn before you can know what to manage or what to borrow or what to lend or what to invest no that's not the beginning you have to actually understand first okay before you start to earn financial literacy starts from the knowledge the understanding so you know already first so when you start to earn you know exactly what to do okay so by the time you are earning you have passed the first stage already because then you are setting goals already you are already implementing your skills so it starts from the little book walk you have learned the information you pass on to the child if you get this money this is what you do then so those values those concepts those skills are invited in the kids or in the children or in us adults as we grow and then after that then you go to the next level that's first understanding mindset must first be in the right context before you now go to any setting goals financial goals when you get to that financial goals you set them then you start to implement you start to act and then when you start to act you know exactly what to do because then when you end you know a lot of people do the 50 30 20 rule 50 is for your general utility all of that 20 is for okay feel good this is my main money and then the remaining 20 is for savings emergency funds so that is how you start it but you must first have done the basics understanding the money skills first before you start to earn and talking about your son it's something um a young guy told me today he builds you know we all um we have um data we have um Netflix we have all of all those utilities we pay for so I would have paid for all of them but I won't utilize them like that so they've got a shared platform there is a ton of digital a lot of digital things are happening now where those is in the pool so you go there and pick what you want to use at the time you want to use it and it's shared so it became that's a cost-effective way so what your child is doing is what somebody I can introduce him to them and he puts his product in that platform that's for secondary school and he works bring my carry and bring my milk and bring my my coming biscuits I'm telling you that's what you have been doing so I take that and then it balances but it is actually very important we start to teach our children how to end the value of money and when you even and when you combat age appropriate up to preschool the age appropriate um curriculum or resource that you can use to equip the child with those basic understanding that we guide them as they grow to be financially independent and responsible people awesome I was telling my son I say I hope it's not a man man because he said if they give this something something you he said no no no mommy that I say because when you get the two the two milk that used to pay I was fascinated by it it sounds like it sounds like they draw yeah kind of yeah so so you know a lot of there are a lot of things that children are being taught at the moment this summer children would have been children would be taught a lot of things but without financial literacy without financial literacy the teaching what would they do with it because that's second level so the foundation is the basic financial knowledge money management okay and so it actually equalizes everybody yeah because a social class all of that it actually puts you on that platform everybody on the same platform so the the less privileged person understands that this and this is what I need to do and money manage my money to be at this level the the person who is up there needs to do this to retain that level it comes down the ladder so it is a stabilizer a balancing thing for us to start to put to teach our children through for equality equality awesome well let's take comments quickly okay so this is um kinsley from worry delta state he said um today is so important financial literacy today is so important with the topic financial literacy for children I wish every parent is watching this program I have an eight month old baby girl who already has an account and I have been saving for her from the first month she was born there is an account called sks in gts in gt bank um smart kids saving from zero to seventeen nice wow how good evening my dear beautiful sisters of what are you saying ways financial literacy for children my dear beautiful sister deola made mention of three points which is very important and should not be ignored number one the ability to make money and understand the value of money number two the difference between needs and wants number three making millions an ability to sustain these millions your guest also said that uh a child must face his or her priority when money is placed in their hands sister we're going to bless you we need to tell representative representative college I to channel the check on blood pressure and sugar level to the roots and not to the airport my name is Daniel illo ways regular fan thank you Daniel illo thank you Daniel so let me take this comment from um mrs i didn't need you from a job and she's becoming a regular commentator she says good evening my dear sisters for this relaxing topic today to that of composting to that of the combustible of yesterday ah yesterday was even my chest was spinning when I left you say on the suggestions of the rep to be testing for blood pressure and level sugar level it is a misplaced priority they are they are not busy the issue they are supposed to be dealing with is still in abundance please help remind them to focus on their official duties on the topic of financial literacy for children I got a piggy bank for my children when they were young and encourage them to be putting money given to them there no matter how little or more and it was the money I used to start my business wow hey I'm coming to you all these mothers I'm very guilty it was it was the money I used to start my business when there was no help on site on site then oh wow oh wow it is over 17 years now I am still in business wow though I have returned okay she has returned their money me I've not returned their own I have returned their money back to them some years later so my children are not used to is it ugly or necessary things or to buy not necessary instead they are used to saving to get what they want in their adult life and helping out with the parents not to be overburdened oh nice very nice so that's really really really nice I'm telling you exactly yes there are good camps everywhere could even doing a good for beauty wait for beauty mothers like us that we are finished already returning money you should pay and calculate time value of money as well I'm guilty exactly I'm very guilty I did a standing order I was saving judiciously but something just happened I needed to touch them when they learn when they come back to you we pay with enough interest that's the one that I must send them through the month of august let them come to me but honestly I am actually looking forward to that boot camp because again we are in will I say we are in interesting times let me know use my mouth of quality different thing but we are actually in interesting times and the the financial pool would just be is all on all corners right um with you know when they increase petrol to 617 dollar was 750 today that dollar is 855 we don't know what they said the next dollar I mean what petrol rates will be so but I mean thank you Kathleen for this and I'm looking forward to the boot camp because my children would would try to come even though they are forming big boys they would not try no no no you know sometimes they are forming like I'm mommy I'm too big for that but you don't need to be too big for financially children from the age of I think for this we will take from the age of nine yeah so but Kathleen even me I am coming I'm a child for this boot camp because I want to come and learn it will do for us I want to come and learn because I know that I have made terrible financial decisions in my life and with this with this current situation of the dollar matter I cannot afford to make any mistakes again I have to learn so we are not we can we can take on the position as children please accept us like that please everybody come come on come on thank you so much Kathleen it's always a pleasure having you thank you thank you thank you thank you ladies we had a fantastic conversation tomorrow I bring another combostic topic just wait let me calculate so I'm sure you follow us across all our social media platforms that way show Africa you can interact with us further drop a comment and more importantly follow all our gain methods social media like share and invite your families and friends to watch and come follow the conversation if you missed our quote for today here it is again it's powerfully important that our kids get an education in personal finance both from their families and in school and that is especially important as more young people must take on huge debt loads to go to college and that's the truth right college is really expensive so since you know that these things will happen just give them financial literacy see you guys tomorrow they are shouting in my ear move on