Youth education
Think back to when you graduated from high school. What did you need to know about managing your finances?
- How to set up and follow a budget
- How to borrow responsibly
- How to save for education and other goals
- Where to bank and what services to choose
- How to invest your savings for the best return
- How to avoid financial scams and frauds
Understanding the basics of personal finances is essential for young adults who are starting to make career choices, entering the work force, and saving for education. The skills they learn will last a lifetime.
The City: Financial Life Skills for Planning 10
The BCSC provides Planning 10 teachers with a resource called The City: Financial Life Skills for Planning 10. It’s comprehensive and easy-to-use.
The resource covers topics like budgeting, savings, credit and debt, investing, and identity theft and fraud. Students also prepare a financial plan - a document they need to meet their graduation requirements.
The approach blends fictional characters with real-life financial activities relevant to grade 10 students. Short stories revolve around eight fictional characters who live in ‘The City’- a world that’s similar to the world students know but modified to avoid associating it with a particular place or time.
By the time students complete the lessons, they have the basic knowledge and skills they’ll need to manage their finances after high school.
The City/La Zone
In 2008, the BCSC and the Federal Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) adapted the resource into a national online resource called The City/La Zone. This fun online resource is available to all young Canadians and their teachers in both official languages. It uses a similar cast of characters and stories set in The City. It uses interactive activities and worksheets that let young people practice real-life skills. You can visit The City at the moneybelt.gc.ca
Managing our financial lives is not easy. Knowing where to start, finding reliable sources of information, figuring out what that information means, and whose advice to trust can be difficult.
These two free, powerful resources will help young people acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence they’ll need to begin planning for their post-secondary education or career, and navigate through the financial realities of adulthood.