Addressing the financially illiterate elephant in the room
In a world where ‘money’ can be treated like a four-letter word, the students behind Budget Basics, a Young Enterprise Scheme group from Wellington East Girls’ College, are committed to breaking down the taboo on the topic with their new board game, Life Buy a Budget.
When Maya and her teammates from Wellington East Girls’ Level 3 Business Studies class were given the opportunity to develop a virtual company for the Young Enterprise Scheme programme this year, they decided to address the financially illiterate elephant in the room.
“I’ve always been interested in money and how it worked,” says Maya, CEO of Budget Basics and Year 13 student at Wellington East Girls’ College.
“When I would ask questions about it, I would never get any answers. I think there’s a lot of stigma attached to talking about money. It’s like we’re told – money is a thing, and you need to use it, but we’re not going to tell you anything about it.”
Just say, YES
Young Enterprise Trust is a charity (sponsored by the Ministry of Education, and others) dedicated to inspiring young people to discover their potential in business and life, with programmes that run alongside NCEA.
Sum Leong, business studies teacher at Wellington East Girls’ College, calls the 2022 Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) a “godsend”.