Girl Guides Australia has launched a new financial literacy program for girls and young women, and in case you’re wondering, yes it comes with a badge!
The Guide Your Money program, funded by Financial Literacy Australia, encourages girls and women to be mindful of the role of money and finance in their life.
It also seeks to help them build life skills in financial literacy and develop an understanding of how it contributes to an independent and secure financial future.
The programs, which target girls 7-12 years and women 18-30 years, cover lessons around money choices, budgeting, saving and borrowing, investing and goal setting.
And because badges are really important to Girl Guides – you must complete at least four topics to be eligible for a Guide Your Money badge.
Women are more likely to live longer than men, earn less than on average and are more likely to take time out of paid work in caring roles.
Furthermore, research suggests that women are less confident than men in their ability to plan their financial future and have a lower level of financial literacy.
Recognising all these challenges, the Guide Your Money Independence program is countering low financial literacy by supporting young women to build skills and knowledge on personal attitudes to money choices, comparison shopping, saving, investing, car and home loans, superannuation and planning for the future.
Girl Guides Australia’s National Program Manager, Helen Reid, says the mission of the program is to empower girls and young women and provide them with skills to deal with real life challenges.
“By building confidence and skills early in financial matters, the programs help girls to approach financial literacy learning with confidence as they need to build more skills and knowledge.
“As young women take on the financial responsibilities of adulthood, the program helps them continue to build confidence and skill and points them towards reliable further learning, creating financially self-sufficient women who can take charge of their lives.”
