Questions I Was Asked At Career Day From 9 And 10 Years Olds (4th graders)

Here are the questions and my answers.

When I was in school, I don’t remember having a career day at my school. Maybe that is why I wanted to be a teacher because I didn’t know about anything else. I hope that today, I was able to open kids’ minds to the possibility of them owning their own business and the fact that they can do many things within their careers.

Most kids have never heard of a Financial Wellness Coach, Educator, and Writer. I was happy to offer insights into the different areas of my job.

I shared what I do for work, what education I needed to do my job, and the skills I need to do my work. Some things I shared were:

• To be a good writer you have to read and write a lot
• To be a good coach you have to be able to be a likable person who likes to help people
• In order to be a good educator you have to always be willing to learn and know how to share that information with others using technology

I know kids are smart. I have three of them. But still, the questions that I was asked sealed the deal that kids are capable of understanding money concepts at a young age. At the end of my presentation, the children asked the following questions. 

What is wealth?

How do you start a business?

How can I save?

As I answered each question, I kept their age in mind. I knew that I had to keep my answers somewhat short and simple. I also didn’t want to dumb down my responses. 

Here is how I answered each question.

1. What is wealth?

Most people associate wealth with only money. I associate wealth with a feeling. Wealth is feeling good about money. It is knowing that you can take a break from work because you have savings to rely on. It is taking time off work to start a business because you have money saved. It is being able to do whatever you want to do because you make good choices with your money. 

2. How do you start a business?

The first thing you must do is think of something that you are good at. This also must be something that you love because when you have a business you do it a lot. Then think of how you can get people to buy what you are selling. 

3. How can I save?

During my presentation, I showed the children how they can use the save,  spend, give, jar system to start their financial well-being journey. During Q & A, one child asked how they can save again. So, I gave a different suggestion. I told the children that in addition to the jar saving system they can ask an adult for help. I shared that my children have savings accounts and investment accounts that I opened for them at their request. I encouraged them to be proactive with their money.

Presenting to 4th graders was a wonderful experience. I hope that they went home and looked for three jars to begin their financial wellbeing journey.