The Real Exam Your Child Will Never Pass in School

Good morning, my friends. Please, sit. I am Dr. Celso. Not a medical doctor, but a financial doctor from Goa. Today, I want to talk to you not as a doctor, but as a teacher. A teacher who is deeply worried about her brightest students.

The Report Card That Lies

Every year, I see it. Parents beaming with pride, showing me their child's report card. "98% in Mathematics, Dr. Celso!" My heart swells with joy for the child's hard work. But then, I ask one simple question. "Beta, if you have ₹10,000 today and it grows at 8% per year, what will you have in 15 years?"

The silence is deafening. The student who aced calculus cannot calculate his own future. The report card said 'Pass' with flying colours. But in the most important subject of life—the subject of your own money—the child has not even been enrolled.

We are training our children for a race, but we forgot to teach them how to manage the prize money.

The Two Bank Accounts of Life

Imagine every child is born with two bank accounts. The first is the Knowledge Bank. We, as parents and teachers, pour everything into it. Science, history, grammar, formulas. We check its balance obsessively through exams.

The second is the Financial Wisdom Bank. For most families, this account remains empty for 25 years. Then, one day, the child gets a job, a salary lands in their lap, and they are handed the cheque book to this account with zero training. Is it any surprise they make costly mistakes?

They spend on wants before securing needs. They fear investing. They see a credit card as free money. This is not their fault. It is our curriculum's greatest failure.

A Story from My Village

My friend's son, Rohan, got a fantastic job in Pune. His first salary was ₹75,000. By the end of the month, he had a new phone, branded clothes, and dinners at expensive restaurants. His bank balance? ₹1,200. He called his father, not for advice, but for a loan until the next salary. His father, a wise man, sent him ₹5,000 and a simple Excel sheet. On it were two columns: "Money In" and "Money Out." That sheet, my friends, was Rohan's first real lesson in financial literacy.

Your Family's Lesson for Today

Let us change this, starting at our own dining tables. Financial literacy is not about complex stock markets. It is about daily habits. Here is what you must do:

1. Talk Money Openly: Discuss the monthly budget. Show them a bill. Explain why you choose to save. Make money a normal conversation, not a secret.
2. Give Them Financial Responsibilities: Give your teenager a fixed amount for stationery or outings. Let them manage it. Let them feel the consequence of poor planning and the joy of saving for something they want.
3. Demystify Banking & Investing: Take your child to the bank. Open a savings account for them. Explain what a fixed deposit is. When they are older, show them a mutual fund statement. Use the power of compounding not as a chapter, but as a magic trick for their own future.
4. Shift the Question: Instead of just "Did you finish your homework?", ask "What did you learn about money today?"

The moral is simple: A high score can get your child a job, but only financial wisdom will give them a life.