April is a month full of learning opportunities! On top of all the directly library-related topics, as well as Poetry Month, April is also National Financial Literacy Month!
What is Financial Literacy?
Financial literacy involves the ability to understand and use various financial skills well. Some such skills entail planning for retirement, managing debt, budgeting, and investing. Financial literacy comes with numerous benefits, including:
- Helps prevent costly mistakes, such as penalties for withdrawing early from retirement funds or taking out high-interest loans/credit cards.
- Aids in preparation for emergencies. It is estimated that 49% of American adults could not afford a surprise bill of $400 or higher (Likos, 2022). Setting aside money strictly for emergencies provides a cushion for unexpected bills.
- Assists with reaching goals, such as buying a new vehicle, going on vacation, or saving for retirement.
- Helps build confidence in decision-making abilities related to money (Fernando, 2024).
Money Lesson Topics by Age
Elementary
Most of the money that elementary students possess either comes from allowances, birthdays, or other celebration gifts. This group tends to have the least amount of their own income. However, learning money basics at a young age helps create a strong foundation for when students have more control over their own finances.
The following are money topics appropriate to teach elementary learners:
- The difference between wants and needs,
- The individual values of bills/coins,
- How to make change,
- Very basic budgeting, and
- Saving for bigger goals.
Book Tie-Ins
- Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock by Sheila Bair
- The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Lesson plan here.)
- Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell (Lesson plan here.)
- Money Monsters: The Missing Money by Okeoma Moronu-Schreiner
- Sunny and the Seven Streams of Income by Andrea N. Pope
- National Geographic Kids Everything Money by Kathy Furgang
Financial Online Games
- Peter Pig’s Money Counter (Available on the App Store and Google Play)
- Wise Pockets
- U.S. Mint Coin Classroom
- Money Bingo
Financial Videos
- SAVING, SPENDING, SHARING, BUDGET A Financial Literacy Musical Adventure for Planning Your Money
- I WANT IT NOW! Impulse Vs. Planning Financial Literacy Music Video: Avoiding Temptation
- Financial Literacy for Kids | Learn the basics of finance and budgeting
- Financial Literacy—Borrowing vs. Saving | Learn the difference to help you choose
Financial Activities/Lesson Plans
- Making Spending Decisions (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Earning Money (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Allowances and Spending Plans (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Money Responsibility (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Saving and Investing (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Comparison Shopping (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Mapping Your Money Journey (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Exploring Entrepreneurship (Educator Guide, Student Guide, Money Monster book)
Middle School
Middle school is often when pupils gain a bit more financial independence. At these ages, they might be conducting more regular work doing tasks such as babysitting, dog-walking, or leaf raking around the neighborhood.
Financial literacy lessons should continue to build upon skills about budgeting, saving, and wants versus needs. Additionally, topics such as interest, investing, and borrowing money responsibly should be addressed.
Book Tie-Ins
- How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Invest! Save! by James McKenna, Jeannine Glista, and Matt Fontaine
- Finance 101 for Kids: Money Lessons Children Cannot Afford to Miss by Walter Andal
- Money Skills for Kids: A Beginner’s Guide to Earning, Saving, and Spending Wisely. Everything Tweens Should Know About Personal Finance by Ferne Bowe
- Money Skills for Teens and Tweens: How to Budget and Build Wealth. Master Your Finances and Become a Money Magnet by Pretty Pickles
- Financial Literacy for Tweens: Help Your Pre-Teen Develop Essential Knowledge in Making Wise Financial Decisions Over a Lifetime by K Thomas
- Money Athletics: Your Game Plan to a Financially Fit Tween by Craig A Kaley
Financial Online Games
Financial Videos
- Financial Literacy—Calculating Interest | Learn an easy way to calculate interest
- Cash Course: What Is A Budget?
- Middle School Fin Lit series (Needs vs. Wants, Goals, Budget, Banking, and Credit)
Financial Activities/Lesson Plans
- Exploring Entrepreneurship (Educator Guide, Student Guide, Money Monster book)
- Writing about Giving (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Using a Buying Plan (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Bouncing Ball Money Choices (Educator Guide)
- Understanding Ways to Pay for Education After High School (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Understanding Minimum Payments (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Avoiding Debt (Educator Guide, Student Guide 1, Student Guide 2)
- Budgeting for Needs and Wants (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Contrasting Long-Term and Short-Term Savings Goals (Educator Guide)
- Boardgames such as Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Payday
High School
Many students start their first official jobs while in high school. (By official, I am referring to jobs that are taxed.) High school is the time where many will start to drive, as well as date. Eighteen-year-old high school seniors can sign-up for their own credit cards. Junior and seniors are planning their next steps after high school graduation, whether that involves continuing education (and the loans that often come with it) or heading straight into the workforce. It can be an exciting time of earning money, but also a time of overspending.
High school students can (and should!) be taught a wide variety of financial topics, such as:
- Taxes,
- Responsible use of credit cards,
- The difference between compound and simple interest,
- Budgeting for real life scenarios they will soon find themselves experiencing. Some examples are renting, buying a car, food-budgeting, and paying for insurances (car, health, renters), and
- Bank options.
Book Tie-Ins
- Money Skills for Teens: A Beginner’s Guide to Budgeting, Saving, and Investing. Everything a Teenager Should Know About Personal Finance by Ferne Bowe
- The Illustrated Guide to Financial Independence: Young Adult Edition by Larry Faulkner
- A Teenager’s Guide to Investing in the Stock Market: Invest Hard Now | Play Hard Later by Luke Villermin
- Personal Finance for Teens: A Simple Guide to Money Basics: 7 Proven Strategies to Make, Keep and Multiply Money to Achieve Financial Independence and Avoid Being Dead Broke by G G Cunningham
- Personal Finance for Teens and Young Adults by Georgia I Lainiotis
- Personal Finance for Teens by Jane Kwan
Financial Online Games
- The Payoff
- The Stock Market Game
- Credit Clash
- Hit the Road: A Financial Adventure
- Money Magic
- The Uber Game
Financial Videos
- Cash Course: What Is A Budget?
- Personal Finance for High School Students
- Budgeting for Teens
- Budgeting Basics!
Financial Activities/Lesson Plans
- Financial Jeopardy – Categories might include “Saving,” “Spending,”, “Investing,” “Goal-Setting,” and “Taxes.”
- Storing My Savings (Educator Guide, Student Guide 1, Student Guide 2)
- Writing about Giving (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Becoming Familiar with Taxes (Educator Guide, Student Guide 1, Student Guide 2)
- Researching the Gig Economy (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Banking Basics Card Game (Educator Guide)
- Understanding Prepaid Cards (Educator Guide, Student Guide)
- Investigating Taxes in Your Life (Educator Guide)
- Boardgames such as Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Payday
NDSL Resources
NDSL offers resource suggestions for teaching financial literacy in the Literacy -> Literacies LibGuide. Additionally, NDSL is working on a kit for financial literacy. Details coming soon!
Closing Thoughts
Financial literacy might not seem like a very school library-related topic. However, much like digital or media literacy it is a lifelong skill-set necessary for learners to become well-rounded and responsible adults! Lessons on financial literacy are not likely to be taught strictly in the library, but they do offer opportunities for collaboration with classroom teachers.
As a side note: If you, as an adult, are looking for a little boost to your own financial literacy, Governor Burgum (along with a team) announced the Smart with My Money program earlier this month.
References
Fernando, J. (2024, April 1). Financial literacy: What it is, and why it is important to teach teens. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-literacy.asp.
Likos, P. (2022, July 25). 18 common misconceptions about money. SoFi. https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/common-misconceptions-about-money-that-people-have/.
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