by Bettina Fachinger
Boys
use their face to move a coin from their forehead into their mouth
while participating in a game. Financial education can prevent children
from accumulating debt (Source: Reuters)
With the
initiative MyFinanceCoach, Allianz volunteers are teaching German
children about money matters. Barbara Roder and volunteer Ulrich Trauner
explain the concept and why
eating chips is essential for financial literacy.
What is the purpose of My Finance Coach?
Barbara Roder: We realized that there is a great need for financial education. In some developing countries, microinsurance programs include lessons in financial literacy. But in Western societies, there is a lack of that education. Today, many kids accumulate huge debts, for example through costly cell phone contracts.
We are focusing on 11-to-15-year-olds because this is the age when children get in touch with their own money–they get pocket money or do their first summer jobs. They are a lot more responsible for themselves than previous generations of children. The state is unable to protect them when it comes to financial matters, and this is where our initiative comes in.
How does My Finance Coach choose partner organizations?
Barbara Roder: Potential partners must be willing to offer sponsorship money to develop the programs and to share their expertise. It is important for us that the companies MyFinanceCoach teams up with do not have any sales objectives. We intend to have a social impact; we do not intend to sell products.
Why didAllianz join your program? Why didn’t they just donate some money?
Barbara Roder: The overall objective of Allianz’s corporate social responsibility activities is to offer expertise and knowledge to benefit society. Every company can donate money but providing the practical know-how has a much bigger impact.
Taking part in a professional and valuable volunteering program is special and Allianz employees have the financial and economical skills. These core competencies are essential for our program.
How do you train volunteers? How do they react?
Barbara Roder: Volunteers have a three-hour training session. They get background information, pedagogical advice, and learn dos and don'ts such as: ‘How do I address the kids?’ ‘What do I wear?’ ‘I shouldn’t refer to Allianz products or hand out business cards’ and so on.
Barbara
Roder, Ulrich Trauner: "All students appreciate someone from the real
business world, with real expertise and experience coming in and talking
to them." (Source: Allianz)
One school session lasts ninety
minutes and the volunteers always go in pairs. It is a huge advantage
that Allianz employees are working all over Germany. Usually, financial
service providers reside in big cities, and their initiatives can’t
reach smaller towns and villages.
The reaction of the employees was overwhelming. We expected about 300 people to apply and now we already have 640. They are always nervous before the first visit. But the reactions and feedback we receive from both sides is so positive that it is worth the effort.
Ulrich Trauner: Volunteering is a great experience. Of course it costs some of your time but it’s time very well invested. I believe financial education is not getting enough attention in schools. With our experience, we are able to teach kids about serious money matters in a fun way.
How, with your background, do you help children learn about money matters?
Ulrich Trauner: I’m responsible for corporate development in Europe and strategic development at Allianz Global Investors, the asset management division of the Allianz Group. Of course it’s impossible to link my day-to-day business with teaching kids about saving money.
A classroom full of eleven-year-olds also means you need to change your language and attitude. Talking in acronyms and jargon won’t do the trick here.
We explain financial management and consumer behavior with interactive games and group exercises, show videos and so forth.
Barbara Roder: In fact, practical examples are far more valuable than dry theories. All students appreciate someone from the real business world, with real expertise and experience, coming in and talking to them.
Please give an example of what you do with the kids?
Ulrich Trauner: To explain that the price I pay is not always an indicator of the quality I receive, we do the so-called ‘chips test’.
The students are blindfolded and offered a variety of potato chips to taste, ranging from expensive brands to cheap ones. Amazingly, the cheap ones are often rated the tastiest. This lesson can be transferred to all aspects of the kids’ consumer behavior. They learn the facts through a balanced mix of lecturing and games.
What’s next for My Finance Coach?
Barbara Roder: We are currently looking for one or two additional partners to be able to enlarge our resources and capacity. We would like to implement MyFinanceCoach as a long-term sustainable initiative.
We would also like to offer more out-of- classroom activities like a special teacher training course, a social media presence, competitions, or educational games. We are also developing two additional modules, “Risk” and “Ecology and Economy”. In the near future, we would also like to offer our services internationally. Right now, we are evaluating the offers of two other countries who might soon join us.
Boys
use their face to move a coin from their forehead into their mouth
while participating in a game. Financial education can prevent children
from accumulating debt (Source: Reuters)eating chips is essential for financial literacy.
What is the purpose of My Finance Coach?
Barbara Roder: We realized that there is a great need for financial education. In some developing countries, microinsurance programs include lessons in financial literacy. But in Western societies, there is a lack of that education. Today, many kids accumulate huge debts, for example through costly cell phone contracts.
We are focusing on 11-to-15-year-olds because this is the age when children get in touch with their own money–they get pocket money or do their first summer jobs. They are a lot more responsible for themselves than previous generations of children. The state is unable to protect them when it comes to financial matters, and this is where our initiative comes in.
How does My Finance Coach choose partner organizations?
Barbara Roder: Potential partners must be willing to offer sponsorship money to develop the programs and to share their expertise. It is important for us that the companies MyFinanceCoach teams up with do not have any sales objectives. We intend to have a social impact; we do not intend to sell products.
Why didAllianz join your program? Why didn’t they just donate some money?
Barbara Roder: The overall objective of Allianz’s corporate social responsibility activities is to offer expertise and knowledge to benefit society. Every company can donate money but providing the practical know-how has a much bigger impact.
Taking part in a professional and valuable volunteering program is special and Allianz employees have the financial and economical skills. These core competencies are essential for our program.
How do you train volunteers? How do they react?
Barbara Roder: Volunteers have a three-hour training session. They get background information, pedagogical advice, and learn dos and don'ts such as: ‘How do I address the kids?’ ‘What do I wear?’ ‘I shouldn’t refer to Allianz products or hand out business cards’ and so on.
Barbara
Roder, Ulrich Trauner: "All students appreciate someone from the real
business world, with real expertise and experience coming in and talking
to them." (Source: Allianz)The reaction of the employees was overwhelming. We expected about 300 people to apply and now we already have 640. They are always nervous before the first visit. But the reactions and feedback we receive from both sides is so positive that it is worth the effort.
Ulrich Trauner: Volunteering is a great experience. Of course it costs some of your time but it’s time very well invested. I believe financial education is not getting enough attention in schools. With our experience, we are able to teach kids about serious money matters in a fun way.
How, with your background, do you help children learn about money matters?
Ulrich Trauner: I’m responsible for corporate development in Europe and strategic development at Allianz Global Investors, the asset management division of the Allianz Group. Of course it’s impossible to link my day-to-day business with teaching kids about saving money.
A classroom full of eleven-year-olds also means you need to change your language and attitude. Talking in acronyms and jargon won’t do the trick here.
We explain financial management and consumer behavior with interactive games and group exercises, show videos and so forth.
Barbara Roder: In fact, practical examples are far more valuable than dry theories. All students appreciate someone from the real business world, with real expertise and experience, coming in and talking to them.
Please give an example of what you do with the kids?
Ulrich Trauner: To explain that the price I pay is not always an indicator of the quality I receive, we do the so-called ‘chips test’.
The students are blindfolded and offered a variety of potato chips to taste, ranging from expensive brands to cheap ones. Amazingly, the cheap ones are often rated the tastiest. This lesson can be transferred to all aspects of the kids’ consumer behavior. They learn the facts through a balanced mix of lecturing and games.
What’s next for My Finance Coach?
Barbara Roder: We are currently looking for one or two additional partners to be able to enlarge our resources and capacity. We would like to implement MyFinanceCoach as a long-term sustainable initiative.
We would also like to offer more out-of- classroom activities like a special teacher training course, a social media presence, competitions, or educational games. We are also developing two additional modules, “Risk” and “Ecology and Economy”. In the near future, we would also like to offer our services internationally. Right now, we are evaluating the offers of two other countries who might soon join us.
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