When kids think credit cards are magic
How can early financial education help children avoid debt and parental mistakes? Howie Lim finds out.
Parents are their kids’ first money managers whether they mean to be or not. The tricky bit? The kids might end up modelling your questionable financial habits. And you wouldn’t even know it.
In this episode of Money Hacks by The Business Times, host Howie Lim speaks with Dawn Cher, founder of SG Budget Babe and author of Budgeting for Families, and Janice See, financial literacy educator with Junior Achievement Singapore. The conversation tackles how early parents should start teaching kids about money, and whether modern tech and cashless payments are making it harder or just different.
The moment our kids see us swipe our card or scan our phone, they’re learning. The question is, what are they learning?
Why listen?
Because good habits beat good intentions Most parents want their kids to be smart with money. But many are unknowingly passing on emotional triggers, bad spending behaviour and a fear-based view of finance.
Because children don’t learn finance from lectures Cher shares how she turned supermarket trips into budgeting games, and why making mistakes young on small dollar amounts is the best kind of lesson.
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Because digital money makes things fuzzier See explains why cashless payments can disconnect kids from the concept of value and how to help them grasp that money is finite, even if it lives in a smartwatch.
Because you might need a financial reset yourself If you’re living paycheque to paycheque despite a solid income, it might be time to rewire your own money mindset before passing it on.
Money Hacks helps listeners make sense of the dollars and cents shaping real lives. Listen now at bt.sg/podcasts. Got an idea for a future episode? Drop the team a note at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@sph.com.sg)
With Dawn Cher, author & founder of SG Budget Babe; and Janice See, financial literacy educator with Junior Achievement Singapore
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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ABOUT THE PODCAST
Money Hacks is a crisp, weekly podcast hosted by Howie Lim. Every Monday, it unpacks personal finance strategies and investing insights through conversations with expert guests. Whether it’s navigating employee perks, finding resilient sectors, or exploring value-based investing, listeners get actionable financial wisdom without the waffle.
