Money, money, money …

Money is something we all need and use every day but most of us embark on being adults without any lessons on how to manage it.
At Happy House we recognise that financial literacy is an important life skill,
You might recall that on a recent blog Florance shared our new Financial Literacy display, helping introduce the children to important money concepts and key financial vocabulary.
We are now excited to say that the display has truly been brought to life thanks to our friends at Squirrel Education, who have kindly given the children at Happy House access to their financial literacy learning platform.
Through the platform, the children receive a virtual salary every Friday and are then responsible for managing their own money throughout the week and month. They must pay bills such as water, electricity and food on time, with points awarded for responsible money management and points lost for late payments.
Alongside weekly bills, the children also receive larger monthly expenses such as transport costs and school fees. Unexpected emergencies can happen too, such as a burst pipe or other sudden costs, meaning they quickly learn the importance of keeping money aside in an emergency fund.
Once their bills are paid, the children then decide whether to move money into savings or spend it improving their virtual home and lifestyle. It has been wonderful seeing them begin discussing budgeting decisions, savings and priorities with each other.
According to OECD research from PISA 2022, around 18% of students across participating countries do not yet have basic financial literacy skills needed for real-life financial decisions. This makes opportunities like this even more valuable for young people as they prepare for adult life.
For our children, this is about much more than a game. It is about developing independence, responsibility and confidence for the future and that should start as early as grade 1!
A huge thank you to Squirrel Education for giving our children the opportunity to develop these important life skills in such an engaging and practical way.