By Matt Kelly

Battlefords students schooled in financial literacy

Apr 20, 2016 | 5:00 PM

Grade 7 students in the Battlefords got an afternoon course Wednesday in saving their money as part of a Canada-wide initiative called Talk With Our Kids About Money Day.

Students from the North Battleford Comprehensive High School, Holy Family, St. Mary’s, St. Vital, Notre Dame, Christian Heritage School and École Monseigneur Blaise Morand came together for the course.

The students listened to bankers from the North Battleford branch of the Bank of Montreal who helped the students become more financially literate and learn how to save their money.

Executive Director of the Saskatoon Industry Education Council Janet Uchacz-Hart said it’s never too early to learn about the value of money and saving.

“Grade 7 is one starting point but we’re looking in the province of Saskatchewan to go even younger because you can (always) learn more about financial literacy. It’s always important about savings and financial literacy from Kindergarten all the way up to adulthood,” she said.

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Battlefords Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Linda Machniak echoed the statement about wanting to plant the financial seeds early in students’ lives.

“You want to make sure they have the skills so they don’t find themselves behind the eight-ball when they’re in university or outside of school once they’re on their own where they can’t pay those credit card bills or they can’t pay their rent or they can’t buy enough food to eat,” she said. “We need to make sure they have the skills so they can survive and flourish.”

Machniak added the students of the present are going to be the business leaders of the future, so helping them today will help the community tomorrow.

“These young people are going to be the business owners or the entrepreneurs of the future, or the employees of the business the Chamber represents. So we recognize working with them to develop them while they’re young will help everybody in the long term,” she said.

Talk With Our Kids About Money Day was developed four years ago by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education in partnership with the BMO Financial Group as a way to help young Canadians learn about money and finances. This is the second year it was offered in Saskatchewan and the Battlefords.