It’s not always easy to teach financial literacy to kids. You can repeat yourself several times, but the message may still not sink in. Yet teaching your kids how to be financially literate consumers is a life skill. It’s about money confidence and helping them understand how to prevent and manage financial issues throughout their lives. This is where financial literacy resources come in. From games to age-appropriate explanations and fun ways of learning, good resources have the power to instill the right money messages in a way that sticks. Here’s what you need to know.
Related: Financial literacy for kids
Money apps
Money Missions
Money Missions is found in your child’s GoHenry app, and are designed to accelerate your child’s financial education and help us achieve our mission to make every kid smart with money. To access, you will need to sign up for a GoHenry kids debit card then your child can log into their GoHenry app and head to the ‘Learn’ section.
Here your kids can watch animated videos, take quizzes, and earn points and badges, learning everything from keeping their money safe to how advertising makes us spend money. You can even use your GoHenry parent app to track your child’s progress. When each lesson comes to a close, another one begins – and your child will unlock new levels as they progress.
MoneyThink Mobile
Dubbed the ‘Instagram for money,’ MoneyThink Mobile is an app that connects young people with mentors who help guide them through basic personal finance topics like money management, credit, investing, and entrepreneurship. The app turns financial education into practical habits and allows young people to make the link between learning and real-world experience.
With embedded social-media-inspired elements like shares, likes, photos, and comments, the app aims to make learning about money more fun and engaging for young people. It helps them develop healthy money habits and make informed decisions about their finances while getting validation and support from their peers.
Savings Spree
The Saving Spree app is a game that introduces the concept of earning money for the work that's available and also guides kids through making choices with the money accumulated during the game. It’s a great app as the game demonstrates that events beyond one's control can cost money.
Money guides
The GoHenry Money Guides
We have a financial guide for every age group (see below) with age-related advice and information on everything from talking about money and spending to talking about money issues as your children grow up.
The GoHenry Money Guide: Financial education for 5-7 year-olds
The GoHenry Money Guide: Financial education for 7-11 year-olds
The GoHenry Money Guide: Financial education for 11-14 year-olds
The GoHenry Money Guide: Financial education for 14-16 year-olds
The GoHenry Money Guide: Financial education for 16-18 year-olds
There is also a wealth of financial literacy information in our GoHenry blog, covering everything from saving and spending advice to how kids can earn money and stay safe online.
Practical Money Skills
Practical Money Skills is an award-winning program developed by Visa, with interactive tools and educational resources to help young people build stronger financial futures. Here you will find guides to everything from credit basics to growing your money, games to encourage young kids to learn more about money, and free materials on everything from identity theft to credit cards.
Barclays Life Skills has a range of interactive tools, movies, and activities available for teens aged 14+, from money personality quizzes to 34 ways to save. They also have resources on understanding payslips, borrowing, investing, and more.
Money podcasts
Million Bazillion
Million Bazillion is a podcast about money for kids and their families from Marketplace and Brains on! It’s a great listen, with episodes on What is the stock market? and Why is it so awkward to talk about money? Each episode comes with a transcript, a cartoon explaining key points, discussion questions, tips, and ideas for learning more.
Money with Mak and G
Money with Mak and G is a fantastic finance podcast for adults and kids. Mak and G are 11-year-old twins, and each bite-sized "minisode" tackles a financial topic like Piggy Bank Origins, The Value of Money (and how to conserve). As they’re short, easy to listen to, and ‘Dad’ chimes in with his 2 cents at the end so both parents and kids can put what they learned into practice. It’s fun financial education for everyone.
Curious Kid Podcast
The Curious Kid Podcast focuses on helping kids understand the world around them, and that includes money. Hosts Jacob and 8-year-old Olivia explore everything from ‘Curious About Money?’ to ‘Curious About Solar Panels?’ In each episode, they take on a topic and ask questions to figure out how it works. It makes learning about money fun and engaging. With new episodes every Sunday, this is a great resource for curious kids (and adults).
Money books
Heads Up Money
This book is a great read for kids aged 12-18. In Head's Up Money, your kids will discover answers to questions like "What would happen if a bank simply printed more money?", "Can wealth buy happiness?", and many more. They will learn about many different aspects of money, including supply and demand, free trade, globalization, and financial crises with real-world situations as examples. This vibrant book is jam-packed with stunning graphics and simple text that will help your kids understand money and its place in society.
The Everything Kids’ Money Book
The Everything Kids’ Money Book teaches kids aged 7-12 about the basics of money management. They will learn how to save, spend, and invest their money wisely. They will also discover how coins and bills are made, how credit cards work, and how to use cool financial technology. This book is a great resource for kids who are starting to learn about money. It will also encourage them to save their allowance wisely and watch their money grow.
How to Turn $100 Into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest!:
This book is a great read for kids aged 10-14. In it, they will learn how to turn $100 into $1,000,000. They will learn about the power of setting financial goals, making a budget, getting a job, investing smartly, and even starting a business. This book is packed with fun facts and real-world examples that will inspire kids to start thinking like millionaires. Plus, there is a business plan template that kids can use to write about starting their own business.
One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All about Money
This book is a great read for kids aged 4-8. In it, they will learn about the history of money and how it has changed over time. They will also discover how coins and bills are made, and how people use money all over the world. This book is filled with fun illustrations and easy-to-understand text that will make learning about money fun and enjoyable. The fun Cat in the Hat character is featured throughout the book, adding an element of excitement for your little one.
How can GoHenry help boost your child's financial literacy?
GoHenrys in-app Money Missions can help boost your child's financial education. The Money Missions are fun bite-sized lessons and quizzes tailored to your child's age, with more complex lessons for older children. These cover everything from money basics to budgets & plans, spending wisely, and saving habits, plus lots more.
From age 6, your child can have their own GoHenry prepaid debit card. With most people using cards for their purchases, this is a great way to help your child learn all about money and finances, with their balance displayed clearly on their GoHenry app.
Jump start your kids' financial independence today and find out how GoHenry can help teach your kids about money.
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