As families make their way through the October school holidays, RCS is urging parents to seize the moment and turn everyday activities into simple money lessons for children. Teaching basic financial habits early – like saving a little each week, deciding between needs and wants, setting savings goals and pausing before impulse purchases – helps children grow into confident adults who can make smart choices with money.
For many families, managing financial realities form a regular part of everyday financial pressures. Although it’s an adult problem, what if the solution starts earlier – not in adulthood, but in childhood? And what if we passed the torch to the next generation the right way; could that be the beginning of a financially literate future for our whole country?
Make ‘money talk’ a family habit
“Financial literacy is the foundation of long-term financial health,” says Mariné van Brakel, Deputy CEO at RCS. “By having money conversations with children, parents give them the tools to manage peer pressure, make better choices, and grow into confident adults who can use credit responsibly. To build a financially resilient future, we should start at home. Money conversations with children don’t need to be complicated – they need to be regular, practical and age-appropriate. Small habits learnt now stay with them for life.”
RCS has partnered with Fintr to help make those conversations fun and relevant. Fintr’s Mini Millionaires series is a newsletter filled with fun, practical activities to tackle real issues children face today – from financial peer pressure to spending on ‘must have’ trends – and gives parents easy ways to explain money matters in a way children understand.
“Kids feel pressure to buy what their friends have,” says van Brakel. “Fintr’s content helps parents turn those moments into teaching opportunities rather than stressful ones. When children learn to think before they spend, families notice the difference.”
Children form attitudes towards money long before they leave school. It can be as simple as getting a bit of pocket money, saving up for a toy, or choosing between “needs” and “wants” – these are all lessons that build lasting habits. When families skip these conversations, van Brakel says kids may carry confusion and poor financial habits with them into their adult years.
Practical tips to follow
Four quick Fintr tips to try this holiday:
- Pocket money with purpose: Encourage children to split pocket money into jars or envelopes for saving, spending and sharing. This visual approach teaches basic budgeting and the value of saving.
- Needs versus wants: Make it a habit to ask, “Is this something we need, or something we want?” Over time children learn to prioritise and make more thoughtful choices.
- Savings goals: To encourage saving, children can create a visual tracker. They should choose an item they want to save for, find its price, and make a poster with a picture of the item. Each time they save money, they can update their tracker to see their progress towards achieving their goal.
- Pause before you buy: If spending is inspired by friends or trends, introduce a family rule to wait 24 hours before making non-essential purchases. The delay helps curb impulse buys and builds mindful spending habits.
Fintr’s offers practical, age-appropriate financial tips and advice to turn your children into confident, money-wise youngsters. “Kids form money mindsets from as young as 3 years old, so it’s never too soon to start building positive money mindsets,” says Elijah Djan, co-founder and CEO of Fintr.
Practical tools for parents
Financial literacy isn’t only essential for children, notes van Brakel, who says that RCS continues to invest in free, accessible resources for adults to help them build financial wellness. RCS has an ongoing partnership with Welltec, to provide the RCS Credit Gateway platform, where anyone can check their credit score for free in under five minutes. The platform also provides personalised budgeting advice, giving consumers a clearer picture of their financial health and practical steps to improve it.
“Accessible tools can empower families to take control of their money,” says van Brakel. “When parents model responsible financial behaviour, it creates a ripple effect that benefits children too.”
Small steps, big impact
Financial literacy need not be daunting. Simple, consistent habits like tracking pocket money, discussing shopping decisions, understanding how credit works or setting saving goals – build confidence and reduce the risk of unhealthy money habits later in life.
“As a business, we believe our responsibility goes beyond only providing financial services,” van Brakel adds. “We want to be part of building a financially empowered South Africa and that starts with the youngest consumers,” she concludes.