In our next story, we're asking you to think back to the moment that you realized you needed to get good with money.
It's a thought that most only wrestle with after they have an income and some bills to contend with- usually too many bills!
Still, a group of students at Queen Square Anglican primary school have gotten the chance to contemplate future money choices way ahead of the normal timeline. Cherisse Halsall reports:
Reading, Writing, and arithmetic are what you expect to see taught in the classrooms of Queen Square Anglican in Belize city. But this week the school switched things up a bit by inviting a group of business graduates from the University of Miami to give the kids a crash course on the subject that the previous generation had to learn in the school of hard knocks.
Hamza Farooq - Graduate, University of Miami
"We are here on a project to help students in this school with financial literacy and along with other of my friends we are here you know going through a handbook tht we made that involves different areas of financial literacy so spending, saving, budgeting, how to open a business, how to grow your business, and today we are talking about self-confidence and self-esteem and leadership because i think that is just. They are some of the key qualities that will help these students as they go into high school and beyond."
But some of the tutors think that those qualities - rather than being taught - come quite naturally to these kids.
Jordan Daisy - Junior, University of Miami
"I've been telling their teachers that these kids are brilliant in terms of the material itself like the core values that we are teaching them they are grasping them so quickly and when we introduced the idea we said okay guys we are going to put you guys into groups and just come up wit any business idea. Some of them wanted to be opening football camps, one of them wanted to be a chiropractor another one wants to open a restaurant, they want to be a chef so a lot of them they have very very good ideas and all they need to be able to do is to identify and to tap into their you know talents."
This talented young woman has set her eye on an industry whose business is as inevitable as taxes
Shanay Fuller - Student, Queen Square Primary
"I created Joe's funeral home for the fact that I am interested in a funeral home, I was interested in it."
Cherisse Halsall
"So, you already had a great idea."
Shanay Fuller
"Rainy days."
And while Shanay may be all but ready to roll out her plan, her classmates are just soaking up the joy of learning new things about cash and credit.
Amunique Lodge - Student, Queen Square Anglican
"I like them because it teaches you about budgeting and how to save your money and spend it wisely and the difference between Debit cards and credit cards is that Debit cards - you have to pay it back."
We asked Trent what money meant to him before and after the course.
Trent Clarke - Student, Queen Square Anglican
"I think it was just something you spend always and you just have it for fun sometimes."
Cherisse Halsall
"And what do you think now?"
Trent Clarke
"Now, I think you should really save it for the future so you can start a business whenever you want."
The course goes on tomorrow where the tutors will wrap up with more lessons in leadership and a fun day for the kids.
The group which comprises young entrepreneurs and business graduates also lead a workshop for small businesses at Holy redeemer Credit Union this afternoon.
