Observed annually on 12 August, International Youth Day celebrates the energy, ambition and resilience of young people around the world. This year’s theme, ‘Different Contexts, Common Aspirations’, recognises that while young people may face different challenges, they share many of the same goals: opportunity, security, education, meaningful work and a brighter future.
This emphasises how it’s more important than ever to equip them with the skills they need to thrive, one of these being the gift of a strong foundation in financial skills and literacy.
As we celebrate our young people, here are five useful habits to make sure your kids and teenagers have the right foundations to build wealth and financial security.
Create a savings account
Making regular deposits into a savings account is a great way to learn about discipline and the power of compound interest.
Consider setting up a customer-owned bank account with your child or teenager to show them the rewards of saving regularly. Today’s apps allow customers to engage with the process in real time, which means they can watch their savings grow without having to wait for a statement.
Build a rainy day or emergency fund
A rainy day or emergency fund teaches kids that while unexpected things can happen in life, having a small buffer can sometimes help soften the blow.
Think about encouraging kids to separate their savings into different categories for different occasions, including one for surprise costs.
Look to superannuation early
For working tweens and teens, retirement is usually decades away, which often means retirement is one of the last things on their mind.
However, building some awareness of super can help with general savings knowledge and long-term planning. A good start is making sure they’re paid the right amount of super if working and are not overpaying on fees.
Get budgeting
A budget helps differentiate between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ and can be useful for teenagers and adults.
Consider working through budgeting apps with your kids and creating a savings competition or including them in the household budgeting.
Practice scam awareness
While young people under 16 in Australia are restricted from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and Reddit, it’s still important for them to understand scam safety if they come across fraudulent behavior online.
This includes topics like understanding the signs of a phishing attempt, good password hygiene, and how to stop, check, protect – pausing before giving money or personal information to anyone, making sure the person or organisation they are dealing with is real, and acting quickly if something feels wrong.
With a gentle nudge, young people can combine their digital skills with money awareness to build habits for life.
