By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
In parallel with this year’s United Nations International Youth Day theme, ‘From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development’, the annual Suncorp Bank Earning, Saving, Spending, and Investing (ESSI) Money Challenge is running its ninth year to help build robust financial knowledge for secondary students to survive in today’s fast-paced digital world.
The program is hosted by Financial Basics Foundation – an independent charity, and it has been running from Monday 19 August to Friday 30 August.
In 2023, more than nine-thousand secondary students from 320 schools participated in the Challenge, including the local Belgrave Heights Christian School who participated from 2021 to 2023, and Boronia K-12 College participated in 2022.
The free national competition aims to provide a unique opportunity for teachers to impart critical money management skills to their students to safeguard online economic activities effectively.
The ESSI Money is provided all year round, however the Suncorp Bank ESSI Money Challenge only runs for two weeks every year – to gives students a chance to put their financial skills to the test and compete against other students from across Australia.
Financial Basics Foundation chief executive officer Katrina Samios said they have been working closely with teachers and researchers for over 20 years.
“We know that developing healthy financial habits from a young age has a positive impact throughout life, student feedback and our research findings also indicate that initiatives like the ‘ESSI Money Challenge’ help build those necessary skills,” Ms Samios said.
“Financial literacy is not consistently taught across the Australian curriculum and young people often turn to finance-influencers and content creators for financial advice and information – without validating their reliability, this emphasises the importance of credible financial education.”
“It should be a stand-alone comprehensive course that includes lessons and conversations around developing sound financial attitudes and behaviours, safe online shopping, saving, restrained spending, where to seek credible financial advice and information and avoid scams.”
The Suncorp Bank ESSI Money Challenge immerses students in a game based in a ‘virtual world’ where they learn about earning, saving, spending, and investing – participated students also engage in various “real-life” activities such as opening a bank account, budgeting, investing, working to earn money, selecting credit cards, and completing quizzes.
According to Financial Basics Foundation, a recent data has revealed that 82 per cent of Australian Gen Zs, between 18 to 26 years old, are financially stressed, and nine in ten Gen Zs have a strong desire to boost their financial literacy.
Ms Samios said the program is a step in the right direction for educating young Australians in
building healthy financial habits.
“Parents home-schooling their kids are also encouraged to get access to the program,” she said.
Each school is unique with different levels of engagement in financial literacy education, as the program is not not a core subject, elements of financial literacy are generally delivered in the mathematics or economics and business curriculums.
“Some schools take a ‘whole of year’ approach and deliver comprehensive financial literacy education over a term, while others may only deliver a lesson or two with a maths class,” she said.
“Our aim is to elevate the importance of personal finance education as a life skill that all students should have access to throughout their high school education.”
Suncorp Bank executive general manager and consumer distribution, Chris Fleming, outlines the value of Suncorp Bank’s partnership with Financial Basics Foundation in developing financial literacy for the next generation.
“Our partnership with Financial Basics Foundation empowers and equips young Australians with the financial knowledge they need to build sound knowledge and healthy habits as they enter the world of banking,” Mr Fleming.
“We are excited to launch the Suncorp Bank ESSI Money Challenge and look forward to seeing young people learn and grow.”
Students participating in the challenge have the chance to win real-life prize money, valuing over $11,000 for themselves and their school.
Home-schooling parents and teachers can register their classes via www.financialbasics.org.au
