For as long as he remembers, Aidan D鈥橲ouza says his mother has helped him ensure that he鈥檚 making smart money decisions.
At roughly 10 years old, D鈥橲ouza said his mother advised him not to spend all his money on candy and frivolous gadgets.
When he started working part-time jobs, D鈥橲ouza鈥檚 mother recommended that he save some of his hard-earned money for his long-term goals and an emergency fund.
Today, the 23-year-old said his mother still guides him financially. She helped him set up mutual funds and taught him about compound interest, which accelerates the growth of one鈥檚 savings and investments over time.
鈥淢y mom has always helped me make sure my money was going to the right places,鈥� said D鈥橲ouza, who resides in Toronto.
鈥淪he always wanted to make sure that I was set for life.鈥�
While D鈥橲ouza credits his mother for the financially secure position he鈥檚 in, he acknowledged that not all Canadians have parental figures who are financially literate or know how to best guide their children to make wise financial decisions.
In any case, experts say it鈥檚 never too late to learn financial literacy. And on the flip side, they say it鈥檚 never too early to begin teaching your children financial literacy.
"Just don't be afraid of (money). I think a lot of times people are afraid of it," said Anna Smith, head of marketing at CapIntel, a business-to-business financial technology company.
"Financial illiteracy is when people don't talk about it and don't learn about it."
Growing up, Smith said her parents didn鈥檛 teach her much about money, which made her feel uncomfortable and insecure when she started to manage her own. As a young adult, she said she got multiple credit cards, maxed them out and got into 鈥渞eally bad debt.鈥�
It was only when she started doing research on how to climb out of debt that Smith said she really learned the importance of financial literacy.
鈥淚 was so scared of it and to face it head on before,鈥� she said.
Now, Smith said she鈥檚 doing her best to instil financial literacy and confidence in her daughter at a young age in order to set her up for financial success, which she strongly advises other parents to do as well.
She noted that telling your children about your financial mistakes is as important as telling them about your financial successes.
鈥淢oney isn't really talked about in the sense of how to grow money and savings and investing and interest, and so I believe that it's super important for parents to teach their kids in order (for them) to be confident with finances,鈥� said Smith.
With her two-year-old daughter, Smith goes grocery shopping with cash to show her how much they鈥檙e physically spending in a single grocery run. This, she said, can be a good first step to getting children familiarized with money and spending power.
Smith also opened up a savings account for her daughter and takes her to the bank to deposit money whenever she receives monetary gifts to introduce her young one to the world of banking, she added.
鈥淓specially from (the age) of one to four, they say you imprint a child and they look at what you鈥檙e doing and they kind of mimic that for the rest of their lives, and so I just think that it's super important just to show them, whether they understand the concept or not,鈥� said Smith.
Books are another way that Smith recommends people to introduce their children 鈥� or themselves 鈥� to personal finance. For example, she has a copy of 鈥淭he Richest Man in Babylon鈥� by George S. Clason, which she plans to pass down to her daughter once she鈥檚 able to read and understand its concepts.
At BlueShore Financial, financial adviser Nico Wong said they offer a program for young children, whereby they give them a piggy bank with three sections 鈥� one for spending, one for saving and one for sharing, the latter being for money they can donate to charitable causes.
The concept is one that Wong suggests parents adopt at home, by purchasing a piggy bank or jar from their local dollar store, to create a similar system for their children when it comes to saving, spending and sharing so that they can learn the basics of money management.
As for adults who were taught little to no financial literacy growing up, Wong said they would benefit greatly from speaking to financial advisers or bankers and stressed that 鈥渁ny time is a great time鈥� to seek financial advice.
If they have children, he said they can then take home that same advice and knowledge and share it with them.
The internet has a wide array of resources like educational videos and articles, too, but Wong said people should make sure the information they鈥檙e consuming online comes from a reliable source or someone who is certified to offer financial advice.
鈥淭hese days where there's so much information, many different sources and things, I personally would stick to trusted sources 鈥� bigger and bigger institutions, professional advice, and so forth,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 always say avoid the things that are too good to be true.鈥�
No matter what age you are, Wong said becoming financially literate will set you up for success.
鈥淚t's never too early, never too late.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2023.
Noushin Ziafati, The Canadian Press
