Financial literacy is essential for everyone and every organization, so it is necessary to understand certain concepts such as investing, debt management, and budget. These are some of the basic skills that everyone would benefit from.
The problem is that young kids and teenagers understand very little to nothing about these financial concepts. However, many states have started to see this critical need and have begun working towards ensuring that this problem is dealt with. They have recognized the need for coursework to handle personal finance within the high school setting. Unfortunately, the truth is that most of the states in the US don’t use this curriculum as a criterion for graduation.
The good thing is, there are several high-quality resources online for people that need to improve their skill set in financial literacy. In addition, there are many ways to develop financial literacy, and one of the most exciting ways to do this is through gaming.
Game-based learning is one of the most influential and engaging means to teach students. The use of games will make it easy to teach students financial management, and they are empowered to learn from the decisions they make. In this article, we will be discussing some of the best games to help your students develop their financial literacy skills.
Payback
This is one of the most popular games out there to help kids develop their financial literacy. It was created by NextGen Personal Finance and is an excellent resource for high school kids. The game was designed for high schoolers to learn how to handle their finances in college and not have to handle substantial college debts. The players are tasked with navigating debt management decisions that are hard-hitting and trying to maintain their happiness, connection, and focus simultaneously.
This game is accompanied by some supplemental reflection materials, making it a perfect piece for students who want to gain a better knowledge of the several costs that come with higher institution education in the US.
Hit the road
From the name of this game, it is obvious what the gamers have to do. In this game, the player has to hit the road and embark on a journey of debt management, responsible spending, and budgeting. National Credit Union Administration designed this game in a way that the learners travel with their friends for a ski trip in Colorado. Their travel takes them through the popular locales in the US. The players have to balance their budget for the journey while ensuring that everybody is well-fed, there is enough gas in the car, and they avoid other costly mishaps.
This game is perfect for a home lesson engagement or a quick play classroom session. Hit the road is an excellent pick for teachers that want to teach their students the basics of budgeting.
Stax
Stax is a classroom-ready, educator-vetted, financial literacy game designed through the collaboration of McKinney and Next Gen Personal Finance. This game tasks the players to make investment decisions for the next 20 years within a play session of 20 minutes. Gamers have to select their portfolio from bonds, stocks, and index funds. The players are taught the basics of investing and how to navigate the investment world. This covers asset allocations, index funds, and long-term horizons. This game comes with free reflection activities and supplemental teaching materials. It is a fun and engaging game that exposes the player to the investment world. One of the most exciting features of this game is that you can enjoy this game either as a single-player or you play in a group.
Credit clash
This is another game from NextGen Personal Finance. It would be unfair and, in fact, impossible to make a list of some of the best financial literacy games and not mention Credit Clash. As listed by essay writing services in the UK, this game is the best web-based card game with wonderful illustrations. The sole focus of this game is to teach one concept of financial literacy, which is credit scores. This game uses a one-on-one faceoff against an artificial intelligence opponent, and the player must balance their long-term wealth-building with their short-term liquidity. The goal is for the player to increase their credit score until it gets to 850, manages their loans, pays bills, and survive several unexpected financial problems simultaneously.
Credit class is a perfect game for both at-home and classroom learning, primarily when used and the free companion worksheet that comes with the game. In addition, this game is an excellent hands-on way for exploring some of the intricacies of credit building and credit scores.
Financial football
This game was created by Practical Money Skills, a site that has the goal of empowering people to manage their money better and improve the quality of their lives through free resources on financial literacy. They created the Financial Football game, backed by the NFL, to teach crucial skills in personal finance via a different sportsline lens. This game is available on android and iOS devices and the web as well and covers subjects such as budgeting, spending, and saving, with the content tailor-made for three age levels: 18+ (Hall of Fame), 14-18 (Pro), and 11-14 (Rookie). This game also has a free teacher’s guide and supplemental lesson plans on its website. It is an excellent way to introduce basic concepts of financial literacy to people of different ages.
Conclusion
Financial literacy is essential for everyone across all age groups. The easiest way to ensure that people learn basic financial literacy concepts is through gaming. This is even more effective if you are trying to teach kids these basic concepts. Then, they understand some of the basics of the finance world, and it will help them make better financial decisions and be better than the generations before them.
Author Bio
Thomas Jackson is a professional freelance content writer that provides dissertation help services and is an active member of several writing clubs in New York. He has written several songs since he was a child. In addition, he gets inspiration from the live concerts he does in front of close friends and family members.
