Priceless Knowledge

The money programme investing time in students

Kirsty Mower and her daughter Tayla are close and there’s not much they don’t talk to each other about.

This year, they’ve been having conversations about a subject they haven’t really covered before − managing money. Specifically, they’ve discussed topics such as budgeting, insurance, mortgages and debt, and being financially sensible.

That’s because year 10 student Tayla (15) has taken part in an education programme called Sorted in Schools, which aims to teach students about a range of financial matters. As a result, she now pays closer attention to the cost of items when grocery shopping with her mum, while conversations around the dinner table often touch on subjects such as interest rates and KiwiSaver.

“It never really crossed my mind to educate Tayla about things like insurance or investments, but her doing the programme has been a real eye-opener ,” says Kirsty.

“You can practically see the lightbulbs going on when you talk about things to do with money and budgeting and debt. It’s a good thing to do.”

The Aucklander says the way the programme is taught is excellent, with students given scenarios and then having to deal with any financial matters relating to them.