Published on February 12, 2022

While schools play a vital role in arming you with basic education and life lessons, don’t you think they miss out on financial lessons and student financial literacy?

Research conducted at the University of Cambridge suggests that your financial habits are typically set by the age of seven.

So, the earlier you get introduced to personal financial literacy, the better for you! By the time you reach adulthood, you can improve your financial habits, avoid impulsive, irreversible decisions and practice the best money management skills for the future.

Why Should Schools Impart Financial Knowledge?

Financial literacy for students is a core life skill of modern society that teaches you the basics of money management, budgeting, investing, and more. As students, you can’t just stick to piggy banks to save more. The world of finance is vast, and to achieve financial independence, you’ll have to understand it someday. While you learn numerous courses in schools, you need to ask yourself one question- “Will I ever use this after I graduate?”

Even national surveys show that young adults have amongst the lowest levels of financial literacy.

If only you had financial education in schools, the landscape would have been different. You would have been able to reflect on the ability to make the right financial decisions and step ahead towards financial planning. But, it’s never too late! To start with, here are some financial literacy crafts that will help you to become financially smart –

Hey, wait up! Can you create your own financial craft?

After reading these 5 crafts, try to think of a new craft and share it with us in the comments below! Wait till the end to find some ideas for yourself.

5 Easy Financial Literacy Crafts You Can Adopt To Become Financially Smart

1. Game-Based Learning

Students generally think learning about finance can often be boring. Budget? Investments? Banks? Lame. But do you know you can add a twist to financial learning through various financial literacy games? Monopoly ain’t an ordinary game that you played with friends and family. If you look into it closely, you’ll realize why! From earning, saving, and buying properties to financial blows, banking, and emergencies the game teaches some of the best financial skill sets to remember for a lifetime. And not just monopoly, you can very much relate to the statement “Money isn’t a game – except when it is.” after trying some of the best financial literacy games yourself.

2. Experiment With Household Finances

Sounds like a big deal for someone in school, right? But remember there’s always learning in the challenging things you try, even if you fail at them. For example, you can take charge of managing the household finances for a month or two. Discuss with your mother about her spendings, daily expenses, and ask how she manages the household budget. Take complete control from her for a while, and try to do things on your own. Create a plan, adjust your expenses, track your spendings and have some savings in the end. You can make use of money management apps and even help your mother to use one, to make things easy.

3. Utilize Your Art And Social Skills

You can make the best out of your creativity, art, and other social skills to get some money. Start by arranging an exhibition of your crafts and artworks, share it with your friends and family who can help you publicize and monetize your work. Considering the response, you can reinvest the same money to create even better things and generate more revenue. Similarly, you can make use of your social skills to start blogging, freelancing, vlogging and making videos, and more. Although this isn’t an immediate source of income, once you start building an audience online, you can get paid for advertisement, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, etc.

4. Books And Podcasts

Personal finance books and finance podcasts have been a hot topic in the industry these days. They have been a great resource to gain knowledge of everything in finance including savings, budgeting, investment plans for students, and much more. You can simply use your smartphones to access the podcasts or buy books online, get an audiobook at your convenience. Experts share their own experiences of the financial journey, the money challenges they faced and overcame to reach this stage. So,  utilize these valuable resources to improve your financial skills, learn about the nitty-gritty of finance in daily life, and how to make smart financial decisions. Get your hands on the best finance books and podcasts right away while they are readily available.

The Art Of Budgeting And Managing Allowances

The last craft in this list is an important one, i.e. allowances. While in school, we understand that not every student has a side hustle or a definite source of income. But most students receive a certain amount as an allowance from their parents and you can kickstart your journey of personal finances using that. The next time you receive your monthly or weekly allowance, make sure to have a plan on where to spend it, and how to save some of it. Even with your credit card, you can try keeping a limit on your spending, thus maintaining a budget for yourself.

Keep a track of your daily spendings and save some money every month for investments or an emergency fund. Set financial goals, both short and long-term for yourself, and work towards them accordingly so that you don’t miss out on them in the end.

Bottom Line

While every one of us got introduced to the world of finance through piggy banks and started saving money on a daily basis. It’s high time now that you take a step ahead of this and exercise these financial literacy crafts for your well-being. It’s certainly a new and creative approach to take over financial matters into your own hands, but if you believe in yourself you can get used to it in no time and begin your progress. Need an extra helping hand with financial literacy crafts and other money management skills? Get in touch with Big Red Education now- a one-stop place for your financial needs.

And now, it’s time to think of your own financial literacy craft!

Here are 2 ideas of financial literacy crafts that you can add to your own list:-

• Get a jar and name it “Grammar Error” or so. Put a buck in it every time you commit a mistake!

• Read one book and listen to one podcast every month. Reward yourself with a small gift once you finish.

Which one are you picking up? Share it in the comments below and let’s see who has got the coolest idea!