Students get financial advice

he senior class of St Stephen’s Primary School was recently given a pep talk in financial literacy by community activist and Justice of the Peace Dr Janal Browne.

Browne told Barbados TODAY that it was important to give students financial guidance from a young age as it would make them financially responsible and benefit them throughout their development.

“Teaching children financial literacy from young helps them to develop healthy, lifelong financial habits, prepare for their future and make them more independent as they get older. This will help them to value money, help them understand that their parents work hard to provide for them, and as they get older, help them to make mature decisions, balancing their needs against their wants,” he said.

“I wanted them to understand that money was an important aspect of life and it was connected to their personal and professional growth. As they move on to various levels of education, they will need money to fund their degrees and certificates and by teaching them to save, they can work towards pursuing a specific educational goal which will help them achieve their dream job. By making real life connections like that I hoped to show them the importance of financial literacy.”

During the educational workshop, Browne gave away several piggy banks to encourage students to start putting aside some of the pocket money they received from their parents.

He said this was one of the many workshops he has hosted over the past 18 years, adding that he previously held a workshop at St Lawrence Primary School.