Money and finances can come off as intimidating and complicated topics. Hearing words like “investment,” “interest” and “rate” sometimes makes it hard to learn how to manage money. Publishing house Bayan Komiks, however, is convincing the Filipino people otherwise. Its goal is to make money management approachable and relatable to the everyday citizen including kids. How is it teaching financial literacy? Through comic books.
We first heard of the comic books from the folks at Entrepreneur.com.ph, and they lent us copies of Ka Ching! Ka Ching!, a series that teaches financial literacy using everyday scenarios, and Super Tykecoon, a superhero comic book that teaches children about money and entrepreneurship. Here’s what we love about them:
Ka Ching! Ka Ching!
Authors Aya J. Mendoza-Sadiwa (who is also the Bayan Komiks Inc. co-founder) and Dennis Malig Dizon, who are both parents, have written the text in conversational Filipino, making it further accessible to every Juan. Illustrated by Mike Banting, the comic book has 25 short stories with grounded-in-reality plots like owning a credit card and sending money to relatives.
Each one has a lesson to teach about personal finance. Topics discussed range from the very basic like learning not to squander hard-earned money to the more complex like interest and inflation. At the end of each story are practical tips on how to apply them in real life. For example, there is an introduction to direct selling and a list of companies that offer the service in the short story that features an ambitious office secretary who manages several “sidelines.”
Here’s an excerpt:
“Hindi kailangan ng malaking capital upang magsimula ng maliit na negosyo tulad ng direct selling… Sa iyong babayarang membership fee, kasali na dito ang ilang katalogo or samples ng produkto upang makakuha ng mga order.
Sa bawat produktong naibenta, may porsiyento ka or komisyon… Maghanap ka lang ng produktong hiyang mo ibenta, at gawin ito ng tama, may negosyo ka na!”
A story about vices shows how much money a person can lose in a month to beer, cigarettes and gambling (spoiler: as much as P3,000!). Another chapter about loans and leverage shows an example breakdown chart of a diminishing balance. The topic is introduced with the story of a mechanic who used a loan to start a now successful business. This book is easy to relate to, fun to read and highly effective at imparting money lessons.
Find Kaching! Kaching!: Ang Komiksbook na Magpapayaman sa Bayan at National Book Store branches for P199.ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWhat other parents are reading
Super Tykecoon
Written by Mendoza-Sadiwa as well and illustrated by Rommel Estanislao, Super Tykecoon is a comic book that uses everyday kids and superheroes to teach children the value of money and entrepreneurship.
Super Tykecoon is structured similarly to Ka Ching! Ka Ching! It is also composed of several short stories with a few pages for further discussion and tips at the end. A chapter on keeping track of allowances, for example, has superheroes named Plus, Minus and Equals. They pop out throughout the chapter to teach a school boy named Migs on how to use a balance sheet.
Aside from the basics like how to keep track of expenses and creative ways to save, the book also tackles more complicated entrepreneurship topics like the four basic types of business, making a business plan, and doing a market analysis, all presented in situations where a kid can relate.
In the book, finding out if a product is ready for selling involves asking family members to try the product first to see if it needs improvement. Finding funding involves striking a deal with dad. Part of market analysis is thinking up of ways and places to sell a product. How? Ask mom to bring the product to work and offer officemates, or set up a stall right outside the house and call up ninongs and ninongs to ask if they’re interested in ordering. Even the grown-ups can learn a lot from this book.
Want to raise an entrepreneur? Find Super Tykecoon: Teaching Kids How to Save & Start Their Own Business at National Book Store branches for P395.CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch now
