Photo by RODEL ROTONI
The “You Can Bank on It!” series taught high school students how to handle money but, more importantly, it showed them the importance of knowing their priorities.
The classic lesson on “needs vs. wants” became a jump-off point for teaching the teens how to budget their money to cover their needs first. They even learned how to convert their budget plan into a pie chart, which is no mean feat!
The students also found out about the role of money in society, the new Philippine currency and how to compute for the exchange rate.
The chapter on earning money focused on the fact that every option for earning money required certain skills, interest and personal qualities.
In almost every class, the students presented skits on the importance of saving so they could afford to go to college, for example, or to tide them over during an emergency.
They learned about situations that merited taking out a loan, about “safe debt load” and the responsibilities that went with borrowing money.
Photo by RODEL ROTONI
They also learned about how income was taxed, how to do comparison shopping and that knowing how to spend and save money was not nearly as important as knowing how to share it.
The last chapter opened their eyes to their rights as consumers.
And because teens get into a lot of trouble with parents when they ask for more money, the series also tackled negotiating about money.