Vidya Shivakumar of India Shares a Favorite "AHA" Money Moment!
We are pleased to have Vidya Shivakumar share a first memory and "aha" money moment of what inspired her to become a financial education instructor.
In Her Own Words
Having been brought up in a conservative South Indian Family, we were always kept at bay when it came to money matters. When I became a parent, I had this strong feeling deep inside me, I would include everyone, in discussions on money and Financial Wellness, irrespective of age.
It all started at our dinner table, my husband began to discuss investments he was planning to make. We would debate the investment options and come to consensus on the right choice.
Both my boys, age 8 and 11 at the time, would listen in on the conversation. And that is where it happened.
Immediately my youngest child asked, what is investment? Why should we do it?
My husband responded, an investment is a way to grow the money. My little one was not satisfied with the answer. How does it grow, he questioned. Does it grow like a plant?
We scratched our heads and did what we could to get him to understand.
Then, I asked the kids, do you know what interest is? My eldest son came to the rescue. He said, yes mamma. I know what interest is, my math teacher taught me!
I was relieved. His response gave me hope and energy to keep going and help them understand even more. So, I enthusiastically asked him can you tell me more about it? He immediately started with the formulas for both Simple and Compound Interest! The formulas were right, but he was not aware why and how to use it? He was short on real time application knowledge.
Later, I had a similar discussion on interest with my kids friends. They were older than my boys. They were also clueless.
I am a firm believer in doing rather than knowing.
So that day I made a decision on a summer project to teach my kids and their friends the the basics of money and its real time application.
It was a summer well spent. We also worked a family budget. We gained lots of insights as adults from our discussions and lessons on money with the kids. They had lots of wonderful suggestions that improved our thinking. We appreciated and implemented many of their ideas.
Today, I am a proud parent, both my boys have started their own investments accounts and have started saving systematically.
This was my starting point and what inspired my Financial Education Instructor journey.
Discover More About Vidya Shivakumar
Vidya Shivakumar is the co-founder of Team Ubuntu. Through Team Ubuntu she conducts Money Matters - A Financial Literacy Program for Children and Young adults between the ages of 7 and 20.
It's mission is to empower 100,000 children with Financial Wisdom and enable them to have more Financial Wellness by 2025.
Discover more about Vidya Shivakumar and her thoughts on kids, money, and financial education on the Team Ubuntu website.
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