The Importance of Financial Literacy for Young Black Girls

Financial literacy means understanding money concepts and using them when making decisions. For a young learner, a useful starting point is a small practice choice: how much is available, what an item costs and how much would remain. A parent or caregiver can guide the activity using pretend money or an amount they have chosen together.

Ages 6 to 9: count and choose. Put out ten paper tokens, with each token standing for one dollar. Draw two items with pretend prices of $4 and $7. Ask the learner to choose one, count out its price and count what remains. Explain that buying the $4 item leaves $6, while buying the $7 item leaves $3. Ask her to describe her choice. No real purchase is needed.

Ages 10 to 12: make a simple plan. Use a pretend total of $20. Set aside $8 for supplies, $5 for a future purchase and $7 to leave unspent for now. Check that the three amounts add to $20. Then change the supply cost to $10 and ask which other amount would need to change. This practices adjusting a plan when a cost changes.

Ages 13 to 16: compare a plan with results. Create two columns labeled “planned” and “actual.” For a practice project, list materials, packaging and any other known costs. Enter an estimate first and replace it with the actual amount when known. Discuss why the totals differ and what information would make the next estimate more useful. Keep the exercise within a budget approved by a parent.

Connect the activity to business language. Revenue is the money a business earns from sales before expenses are subtracted. Expenses are business costs. Profit is what remains when revenue is greater than total expenses for the period; when expenses are greater, the business has a loss. Counting only one cost can make a project look more profitable than it is.

Try this practice example together. Ten cards sell for $3 each, producing $30 in revenue. Materials cost $12 and packaging costs $3. If those are all the expenses in the example, profit is $15. If another $5 expense is added, profit becomes $10. Ask the learner to explain why sales money and profit are different amounts.

A saving goal can also be a practice activity. Name an item, find its price and record how much has already been set aside. Subtract that amount from the price to find what is still needed. Families can use pretend amounts if they prefer. Keep the conversation about choices and calculations, without making a child responsible for adult household bills.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Money as You Grow website provides activities and conversation starters for parents and caregivers: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/money-as-you-grow/. Enriching Young Minds is planning future classes; confirmed subjects and registration details will be listed when available.