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Cashflow 101 for everyone
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lg_6273
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04-Jun-2007 22:10
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Published June 4, 2007 Cashflow 101 for everyone Competition organised by NTU-IIC open to junior colleges for first time, JASON LOW reports WHEN Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, designed the financial board game Cashflow 101 - which uses the financial concepts put forth in his book - he had hoped to use the game as an educational platform to promote financial literacy among people of all ages.  The inaugural number of JC entrants set a participation record for the annual event, with Temasek Junior College (TJC) alone accounting for more than 118 entrants. And that was just what a group of undergraduates from NTU Investment Interactive Club (NTU-IIC) used to imbue such pertinent financial knowledge in a group of students, some as young as 15, in a Cashflow 101 competition organised by the club recently. The NTU-IIC Cashflow 101 Challenge aims to stimulate Singaporean youths' interest in investment by engaging them in a fun yet educational way. This annual event - supported by the Singapore Exchange - was opened to junior college students for the first time. In all, it attracted more than 320 entrants from JCs, centralised institutions, polytechnics and universities. 'Previous batches of participants in our NTU-IIC Cashflow 101 Challenge have reflected that the game had been useful in inculcating important financial knowledge and concepts in a meaningful and entertaining way,' says Phua Hong Kiat, corporate affairs director of NTU-IIC. 'We have thus decided to open up the competition for the first time to local JC students this year in hope of reaching out to our fellow juniors and letting more young Singaporeans benefit from the experience.' The move proved to be a huge success. The inaugural number of JC entrants set a participation record for the annual event, with Temasek Junior College (TJC) alone accounting for more than 118 entrants. 'We felt that the game was very educational in bringing about practical use of financial concepts but yet easy to comprehend even for students as young as 16,' says Lee Lee Fong, deputy head of economics of TJC. 'Thus, we were very supportive of this initiative taken by NTU-IIC and strongly encouraged our students to sign up.' The game has two stages - the rat race and the fast track. Players aim to get out of the rat race by accumulating passive income to a level where it exceeds expenses. Once out of the rat race, the player moves to the fast track where he will win the game if he accumulates $50,000 in his 'monthly cashflow' or buy his 'dream', which is a slot in the fast track that is pre-determined before the start of the game. Taking into consideration the JC students' lack of exposure to Cashflow 101 as well as to better prepare participants for the competition in general, NTU-IIC put together a series of training sessions to help entrants get the hang of the game. RJC boy wins At the finals held at Scorebot, a unique Internet trading cafe in Bugis, the top 32 contestants battled it out, vying for the coveted first placing. Xue Jing Cong from Raffles Junior College (RJC) outdid the rest of the competition to finish first. RJC also finished the competition as the champion JC. At Victoria Junior College (VJC), BT understands that financial literacy courses have been taught to students as young as 15. 'In the integrated programme in my school, we had a series of courses revolving around financial literacy, entrepreneurship and innovation,' says Ivan De Souza, the runner-up of the competition. 'My teachers also touched on fundamental and technical analysis in stocks to give us a better insight in investing.' At the closing ceremony graced by Christina Soh, vice-dean of undergraduate business at NTU-Nanyang Business School, the winners of the competition were presented with certificates and prizes totalling more than $400. 'We are delighted and impressed by the initiatives taken by these young student leaders from NTU-IIC to organise such an event because it underlines these students' ability to recognise and promote the importance of financial literacy for these younger students who are still in their teenage years,' Dr Soh notes. 'Financial literacy is indeed an essential life skill that impacts our critical personal choices about lifestyles and investment decisions,' she says. 'Therefore, we are hoping that even more of such events could be organised in future to further enhance and promote financial knowledge among the younger generation.' With the growing trend of schools holding financial education classes, it is not hard to imagine the increasingly younger profile of retail investors in the near future. One who is setting his sights in investing in the stock market given his early start in financial education is Teoh Hock Ming, the second runner-up of the competition, from Serangoon Junior College. 'My background in principles of accounts has helped me tremendously in this competition as I was able to understand terms like assets, liabilities, expenses and income better than many of the participants. With my headstart, I believe that I will become more financially savvy in the future and am looking to invest in stocks in the next two years.' |
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