Credit expert urges parents to teach finance « Euro Weekly News

Financial literacy is not just for learning as a young adult. As RTÉ News reports, the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is advocating for children as young as four or five to start learning about personal finance.

CEO David Malone says: “Teaching very young children, in primary school as a start, about personal finance can really plant those early seeds for financial success.”

The ILCU’s Start Money Smart programme, offers tailored and interactive classroom activities. Topics range from budgeting and saving to impulse buying, taught through games, quizzes, and worksheet challenges.

Malone adds, “We find the interaction in the classrooms… they’re learning from each other as well.” Parents are also encouraged to use tools like savings charts or party budgeting games to teach value through experience.

Teenagers to tackle spending and debt topics

The journey doesn’t stop at primary school. ILCU also runs Clued In for secondary students, covering budgeting, credit, and disposable spending. Meanwhile, financial planner Leah McMahon is filling another gap. She developed a financial literacy course for Transition Year students at Castletroy College in Limerick, her former school.

Her goal is to build habits early: “Understand the money that comes in, the money that goes out. Be able to control your expenses and save towards your goals,” McMahon advises RTÉ News.

Her programme teaches teens to split their money into 50 per cent for expenses, 20 per cent for savings, and 30 per cent for leisure. She also highlights risks around easy credit access: “One of those repayments being missed can go on their credit history reports… and that’ll affect them in the future.”

Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland’s Money Smarts programme focuses on real-life money scenarios for students, covering savings, debt, and fraud awareness. Aoife Mahon, Programme Manager, told RTÉ: “The programme really challenges students to actively take more responsibility for managing their daily spend.”

Students can even open bank accounts through school-based “student banks.” Teachers say this hands-on experience enhances maths and business lessons and boosts engagement.

The push to teach children about money reflects growing concerns about financial anxiety in young people. McMahon notes that around 70 per cent of 15- to 30-year-olds in Ireland are reportedly worried about money.

View all news from Ireland.