Expert blames lack of Financial Education for poor financial decisions

  • Says outbreak of COVID-19 has made people more aware of their poor financial decisions

Oscar Mokgethi

Local Financial Educator Khumo Nawa says lack of financial education in the school curriculum is the main cause for poor financial literacy in the country.

Speaking in an interview with Gazette Business, Nawa – who is also the co-founder of Money Managers, an organization that provides money management tips and coaching – pointed out that the lack of financial education continues to lead people into making wrong financial choices which could have been avoided.

There is a need for financial management education in schools if raising consumers and spenders should be avoided, she added. “Money is such an important tool in our lives, yet not much is being done to ensure that people are equipped with basic money management skills,” Nawa said. “We continue seeing a culture where people go to school and start working without any exposure to financial education.”

However, the financial educator noted that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are beginning to realise that financial education is the answer to many of their problems. The pandemic, she said, has made more people to become aware of their uninformed financial decisions that have little regard for providing for the future. “We need a mindset shift from being consumers and spenders to being producers and investors,” she emphasised.

“This is why Money Managers has made it its mission to empower mankind through financial education that covers sharing practical money management tips, providing money management tools and advocating for financial inclusion through collaboration and partnerships with the financial service sector.

“That is why we have created a personal financial management diary called Money Managers Diary that provides a safe space for people to implement money management tips.”