A common question asked by parents who didn’t grow up receiving money lessons is this:
How do I start teaching my kids about money?
While researching how to teach my kids about money management, I came across World of Money, a financial education course for kids.
A Child-Led Financial Education Course
World of Money empowers youth with a sound financial education. It allows parents to create a strong foundation for their children, whether or not they know the first thing about financial literacy.
Since World of Money’s inception, more than 5,000 youths, ages 7-18, have gotten the financial foundation necessary to break generational cycles of poverty and to change the way they view money.
The program equips kids with the tenets necessary to living a financially responsible and philanthropic life: learn, earn, save, invest, and donate.
These tenets are at the heart of each and every money lesson your children takes in the World of Money online course.
“Learning financial education is like learning a foreign language,” explains Sabrina Lamb, World of Money’s founding chief executive officer. “Repetition and applying what you learn will increase your own financial knowledge.”
Investing in these courses now means I can keep my kids from making some of the mistakes I made.
World of Money’s 160 self-guided courses are designed for children ages 7 to 21 and broken up into four levels: Young Moguls (7-9), Rising Moguls (10-12), Moguls (13-17) and Super Moguls (18-21).
In each module, animated characters make financial education accessible and fun through engaging videos and quizzes that test their knowledge. (Fun fact: The characters’ voices are children who are a part of the World of Money community!)
World of Money’s curriculum builds on itself—you can’t jump around—ensuring that children understand those foundational concepts before they can move on.
And it makes sure that kids understand what they’re learning with a short quiz at the end of every module. If they answer a question incorrectly, they’re taught the right answer in an encouraging way.
Some of the money lessons kids learn through World of Money include basics like money mindsets and budgeting. They’ll also tackle complex concepts like compound interest and credit scores.
Your child’s progress is cheered on with a celebration at the end of each course, financial affirmations sprinkled throughout, and a certification of completion when they complete the course.
Parents get to participate, too: Kids are encouraged to share what they learn with their family, ensuring everyone is learning and growing.
Money Lessons Learned the Easy Way
That last part—learning about money as a family—is what’s really great about World of Money.
Educating myself and my children about money is important to me as I build my family’s legacy, but it’s also about contributing to the legacy of the greater Black community.
I want my children to know the difference between being rich and wealthy, and to be able to use that knowledge to break generational cycles of poverty. World of Money’s holistic approach to financial education gives children that knowledge.
It’s a knowledge base that I didn’t have growing up, and I’m not alone.
“One in five U.S. 15 year olds do not understand basic financial concepts,” says Trish Meade, World of Money’s operations manager. “In America it has become increasingly evident that financial education is lacking or missing from most school systems. As a result, young people are not equipped with the financial skills needed to make sound financial decisions.”
When I was in college, I took out loans without any understanding of what that would mean for my financial future, and without a clear plan or guidance as to how I would pay them back.
I couldn’t open my mailbox without being bombarded with credit card offers, so I got a credit card in my twenties because I thought I should. I didn’t know anything about credit, or how the decisions I was making would impact the opportunities I would have later down the line.
If I had been able to take World of Money’s courses as a teenager, or even in my early twenties, I might have saved myself from some growing pains and a whole lot of debt.
Investing in these courses now means I can keep my kids from making some of the mistakes I made. Instead of doing what I had to do—reading blog after blog and watching hours of YouTube videos—they can take a financial education course like World of Money to get their money lessons.
Financial literacy is especially important for Black people. A lack of financial education has been used as a vehicle in our oppression.
Studies have shown that the net worth of the average white family is nearly 10 times greater than that of the average Black family in the U.S. That is clearly white supremacy at work. If we are to combat the staggering wealth gap between Black and white people in this country we will have to begin by educating our children.
I’m looking forward to using World of Money’s educational course. They will help guide my children toward feeling confident in their financial knowledge and future decisions.
Let’s teach our kids how to navigate the financial system and make it work for them instead of against them. When we do this, we’re arming them with tools for not just self-liberation, but the liberation of generations to come.
Want to give World of Money a try? Get a 40% off discount (that’s $89.99 instead of $150) by using the offer code MM until April 30.
