Money Talk with Gloria

Where do parents go to learn how to talk with their children about money matters? 

Gloria in Hong Kong, SAR-China found the best opportunity to learn how to approach financial conversations with young people was to volunteer in the JA Building a Financially Capable Generation initiative.

Gloria works for HSBC, which partners with JA Worldwide and JA locations around the world to help young people gain the confidence and skills they need to become financially capable young adults. In her first volunteer experience with Junior Achievement Hong Kong, SAR-China, she partnered with another volunteer to introduce students to basic financial concepts and skills and teach them the value of proactively managing money and making smart decisions when it comes to saving and spending responsibly. 

Gloria enjoyed the experience and elected to continue volunteering as a coach in the National Innovation Challenge. She helped a team of students hone their pitch and presentation for marketing a podcast that provides a safe and supportive space for young people and adults to have frank and honest conversations about money. With her guidance, her team of students earned second place in the competition. 

We sat down with Gloria to talk about her own financial capability journey and to ask her advice for parents to help young people become empowered, confident, and capable when it comes to managing their money.

Note: Gloria’s responses have been gently edited for clarity and length.

What motivated you to volunteer in the JA Building a Financially Capable Generation initiative with JA Hong Kong, SAR-China? 

“I'm a mother of a nine-year-old son, so part of my motivation is a bit selfish because I would like to learn how to talk about money with my child. I know it is going to be a challenge and there are potential issues that I will need to face in a few years, so I wanted to learn more about the recommended approach for teaching teenagers how to manage their money and to help them to better understand the concept of money. This way I get to practice how to teach these skills and concepts.

Another part of my motivation is knowing that I can contribute to helping young people learn about money matters. And I think I can learn from the students, as well, to be honest. That’s why I volunteered to help lead the introductory workshop, and then to help coach a team of students in the National Innovation Challenge.”

What is one of your favorite moments from your volunteering experience?  

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to see how young people think nowadays. In the introductory workshop, I partnered with another volunteer to teach basic concepts about money. Through my interactions with students, I gained a better understanding of how clever young people are nowadays and how much information they already have. I think it’s so important for young people to have this kind of learning experience that teaches them about money and gives them the opportunity to make smart choices and practice good habits.”

What do you think students took away from this learning experience?

“For the National Innovation Challenge, all of the teams did a lot of research on their own, and worked out the problem statement for their business case and how to solve it. They also brought in their own understanding of different media channels for their marketing campaign. Students spent a lot of time to do the groundwork for their campaigns and to think about what is practical for reaching young people. So, I think overall it is a really great learning experience for them. Students learned a lot through their research and proposal process, and from the feedback that coaches and judges provided during the National Innovation Challenge. And I think that the students gained insight into how to talk about money.”

How can parents teach their children about financial concepts and skills? 

“I think it is important to teach children basic concepts about money. Young people need to learn about how to properly manage their own money first, before they can learn about and practice saving money. And once they learn about managing money and saving, they can start to learn about what it means to plan for the future. So I would say teach your children about concepts like income and expenses. 

Nowadays, kids hear so much about virtual money, FinTech, and the metaverse. I think when you are talking to your kids about money matters, start with the basics before talking about all these new things. Even the debit card that students use to buy their lunch at school - students don’t really understand how that works because they just use it and don’t see their parents adding money to their account. So they can miss the basic income and expense process that goes into it. The same goes for credit and debit cards that banks offer for children who are 12 or 13 years old and who study abroad. But kids don’t see their parents paying those cards off, so how can a young person gain an accurate concept of money? This is just my personal advice, but as a parent I think it is critical to teach children foundational financial concepts before they can enjoy the benefits of virtual financing and FinTech.”

What is one experience with money that every kid should have before turning 18 years old? 

“I think it is important for young people to get into the practice of maintaining a budget and keeping track of your income and expenses. To be honest, I am not doing a great job at this even now, as an adult! It is so important for young people to get into the habit of recording how you get your money and how you spend it. As you start to build up your budgeting and bookkeeping skills and practices you start to think about your spending choices and you start to really justify what you need to spend money on and what you just want to spend money on. This is a practice that will help you be responsible with your money throughout your life.”