Earning their keep
JIMMY REES IS PASSIONATE ABOUT TEACHING CHILDREN THE MANY BENEFITS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY
Comedian Jimmy Rees goes by Jimmy Giggle, The Guy Who Decides Packaging and now he has added author to the list. As his free digital storybook Ollie and the Spectral Spectacles drops, Rees says he hopes his tale of a child inventor with a keen eye for upcycling will excite kids about living in a more circular economy.
Australia’s nightmarish Covid predicament has our children’s financial future top of mind. It is no surprise that a national YouGov Galaxy poll last month found between 89-92 per cent 1027 respondents consider financial literacy as or more important than maths, English and science. The vast majority of parents – 86 per cent – believe that financial education should be part of the school curriculum. And while his story features a pair of glasses with special powers, Rees says teaching kids how to be financially savvy and sustainably minded is no magic trick. It starts with wasting less food, eliminating disposable plastics and reducing landfill by repurposing unwanted items.
“Financial literacy is something we all should learn,” Rees says. “It’s not something that’s offered to you on a plate in the parenting manual. There’s a lot of stuff around eating, sleeping, getting your kids to school – then when they’re off to school it’s literacy, reading and maths.
“When you become an adult, you find out pretty quickly that it’s very important to manage your money.”
Finding himself on TV every day on Giggle and Hoot at just 22, Rees says he was “thrust into” managing his finances and was glad he had saved for things as a kid.
“I once bought a Nintendo with my friend,” he says. “We both saved our money – we didn’t have enough to buy it ourselves.”
His parents could have chipped in, but they didn’t – a great lesson, Rees says now.
“We had a plan, we stuck to it, we bought the Nintendo and every subsequent game we bought together. We only had one controller to start with as well – we had to save up enough money to even play it together.”
Circular economy lessons already abound, with millions of live listings across hundreds of categories. Indeed, collaborating with Rees to launch Ollie and the Spectral Spectacles is part of Gumtree’s sustainability partnership with Planet Ark.
Mum of three Anna Moore says her kids Alahni, 7, Jake, 11, Hallie, 13, already list their own items for sale during regular clean-outs.
“They know that someone else then gets to use those toys or books that they’ve sold and it doesn’t just get thrown in the bin,” Moore says. “I think (the book) is a great idea to send that message to children.”
And it’s not just buying and selling in their household – eldest child Hallie is already upskilling.
“She’s setting herself up to be able to earn a little bit of extra money and a skill that she can then provide to people in the future,” says Moore.