Money Talk with Anson at HSBC

When he volunteered to teach students how to make smart decisions with their money, Anson did not expect to get anything back in return. To his surprise and delight, his volunteer experience not only made an impact on how young people manage their money, it also helped him become more empathetic and supportive of younger colleagues when they join his team at HSBC Global Asset Management in Hong Kong, SAR-China.

Anson led a group of students through the introductory workshop of the JA Building a Financially Capable Generation™ initiative. Covering topics such as income and expenses, needs versus wants, budgeting, saving, and spending wisely, his goals were to help young people see the value of managing money proactively, understand how to make wise money management decisions, and gain the confidence to act according to their interests.

We sat down with Anson to talk about his own financial capability journey and to ask his advice for parents to help young people become empowered, confident, and capable when it comes to managing their money.

Note: Anson’s responses have been gently edited for clarity and length.

Why are you volunteering through HSBC with Junior Achievement Hong Kong, SAR-China?

“For me, I want the next generation to be better than I was at managing their money. We need to teach children about money matters when they are young so that in the future, as they grow up, they have a good and clear concept of how to make smart decisions with their money and save and spend wisely and responsibly.”

What advice do you have for parents on how they can teach their children to be confident in managing their money?

“I encourage parents to teach their children that money has to be earned. And when you have it, you have to save and spend wisely. I think one good practice is for parents to go through the budgeting process with their children. Say you have $100, and you have to spend a certain amount on travel and food, and you have $20 left. What are you going to do with that money? Save it? Spend it? Parents should talk with their children about their budget week by week or month by month and that will make a big difference.

When children get a little older they can set up their own budget for a month or six months and parents can review how things went with their children. Parents can help children understand, for example, that if you overspend one day or one week, they cannot have a good lunch or buy snacks the next week. This way children learn to take care of their money. They can have the freedom to make their own choices but they also have to experience the consequences of bad decisions. It’s better to learn the lesson by going without a good lunch when you are in school than to fail to manage your finances when you are an adult!”

What is one experience with money that every kid should have before turning 18 years old?

“During Chinese New Year you might have some red pocket money, and sometimes parents will save that money for their child’s future. I think it’s important to give teenagers a chance to manage their own pocket money. They can choose to save up, or they can spend some of it. But in return, if teenagers are to have the freedom to handle their own money, they should propose a budget to their parents and detail how they are going to save and spend their money. This way parents have some kind of control over how teenagers manage their own money. My parents gave me a fixed amount of pocket money since I was twelve years old. I could use that money to spend on things like snacks and clothes while I was at boarding school. That gave me experience managing my own money.

Another thing that is important is for young people to experience earning money, such as through a part-time job. This will help teenagers understand that earning money is not easy, that they have to work hard for it, and that will help them understand the value of money. It would not just be a number, it would mean something more when they have to put in time and effort in a job to earn it. Even if it’s just around the house, doing some extra housekeeping like cleaning in return for extra pocket money.”

When young people first begin to make decisions about what to do with their money, what good habits should students learn?

“Do the budgeting. You have to have a clear understanding of how much you are earning and how you are going to spend it. Let’s say you have a sort of debit card that you use to buy lunch at school. You need to know how much you have to spend before you go and buy too many things! You have to take care of your needs first, before you go spending on your wants. Make sure you do not overspend!”

How can families normalize talking about money?

“Coming from a Chinese background, I understand that in my culture many families hesitate to talk about money. But it is not a topic to be shy about! Money is an important part of life! I suggest parents start talking about the concept of money very early. One idea is for parents to give their children an amount of pocket money and to then talk as a family about how the children chose to spend their money. This way, children can learn if they are making wise choices, and parents can remind children about good practices with their money.”

What surprised you in your volunteer experience?

“There is one exercise in the introductory workshop where students have to discuss and differentiate between income and expenses. The students had some very interesting ideas that some of the items can be both income and expenses at the same time, which I didn’t really think about when I was looking at the curriculum. They really encouraged me to think outside the box. This is helpful to me because when a young colleague joins my team I have a greater understanding and appreciation for the younger generation’s mindset and ideas.”

What do you hope students take away from their experience in JA Building a Financially Capable Generation™?

“My hope for students is that they learn to identify needs versus wants and to apply what they learned in their everyday lives so they can become responsible money managers. I want them to understand they should only spend what they earn, and not spend any more than that. This is a very important takeaway for them.”