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Donations to the Waikato Financial Literacy Fund build income for funding for financial literacy programmes, courses and tools for children and teenagers.

Managing your own finances wisely is a life skill that is becoming ever more important for survival and wellbeing in the modern world, and yet many people don’t know how to make money work for them and often pay a high price for that lack of understanding.

Cambridge philanthropists John and Nicola Kenel established the Waikato Financial Literacy Fund at Momentum Waikato to tackle this concerning issue.

Investment income from the Waikato Financial Literacy Fund is used for grants for kids and teens to attend financial literacy programmes and use online tools and apps that teach these skills, such as ‘SquareOne’.

John says the financial responsibilities people need to take on are becoming increasingly complex, with factors such as retirement planning and recognising risk becoming ever more critical.

“It is all about being able to distinguish between a want and a need. It is easy to get into debt but not out of it. If you budget and save, you’ll then be able to invest, and its investment that gets you ahead,” says John.

“Many people are making complex decision without the skills and experience needed. They’re just guessing on something that can have a negative long-term impact on their own and their family’s wellbeing, on their ability to own a house or retire comfortably.

“As Oscar Wilde said: ‘there is only one class of people that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. In fact, the poor can think of nothing else’. We want to free people from that worry.”

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