BITE - Financial Literacy for Kids

There were 2 men, Early Ethan and Late Leroy. They both invested in the same asset.

Ethan invested $4,000 at the start of each year from age 25 to age 34, a total of 10 years. After that, he stopped adding money and left his investment to grow on its own. In total, he invested: $4,000 × 10 = $40,000.

Leroy invested $4,000 yearly from the start of age 35 for 30 years until age 64. In total, he invested: $4,000 × 30 = $120,000.

Leroy put in 3 times as much as Ethan, but who do you think ended up with more money at the end of age 64?

At the end of age 64, Early Ethan had about $629,740.69, while Late Leroy had about $489,383.47. A whopping ~$140,000 less!

Even though Late Leroy invested more money, Early Ethan ended up with more money.

Will your child be Ethan or Leroy?

Ethan won. Not because he was smarter or richer, but because he started first.

Figuring out money too late cost Leroy many years of compounding. Do not let it cost your child more.

Give your child a strong money mindset early with BITE, a financial literacy platform for kids aged 10 to 15.

Start your free trial today: https://app.learnwithbite.com/auth/signup

Want to help your child invest but have no idea where to start?

Here are 3 platforms to get you going:

1. Syfe (syfe.com) Tag your child to a portfolio from their wide range of options. Whether you are aiming to capture growth or earn passive income, there is a portfolio to match your goals.

2. Interactive Brokers (interactivebrokers.com) Open an additional account for your child under your own username. You both gain low-cost access to global markets, all in one place.

3. FSMOne (secure.fundsupermart.com) Open a beneficiary account for your child. Their regular savings plans make it simple to build a consistent investing habit.

Helping your child invest is only part of the picture. When the time comes for them to take over the portfolios you have built, they will need the confidence and judgement to make decisions on their own.

That is exactly what BITE is for. Your child learns about the world of financial assets, practises making investing decisions with simulated funds and builds the mindset needed to grow wealth over time.

🔗 Start with a free 14-day trial: https://app.learnwithbite.com/auth/signup

📌 Save this post so you can come back to it when you are ready to take the first step.

Happy Financial Literacy Month! 🎉

To mark the occasion, we are offering full access to BITE with a complimentary 14-day trial for the remainder of April.

Your child will explore saving and investing through a structured and interactive programme, including:

• 50 bite-sized financial concepts
• 10 guided practice activities
• 5 quizzes with instant feedback
• 2 immersive simulation zones

Within the simulation zones, your child will experience making hands-on saving and investing decisions using simulated funds, in environments designed to mirror real financial systems.

Start your free trial now: https://app.learnwithbite.com/auth/signup

This Easter, may you find new beginnings in the little moments. From all of us at BITE, we wish you and your family joy, warmth and a beautiful time together.

Paying your child for every chore might feel like a good way to teach responsibility... But it can gradually teach the wrong lessons. Swipe to find out why! ➡️

1. It Kills Intrinsic Motivation

Children naturally want to belong and pitching in is one way they do that. But when money is always attached, “I want to help” becomes “What is in it for me?”

2. It Ties Responsibility to Reward

Helping out at home is not a paid job. It is an essential part of living together. But when chores come with a price tag, children may start treating responsibility as a choice.

3. It Limits Their View on Earning

If earning always means being paid for time spent on tasks, children miss out on learning that the real world rewards impact, not just effort.

What should we do instead? 👇

✓ Resist the urge to reward when your child pitches in
✓ Set a baseline for what is expected as part of the family
✓ Encourage them to solve problems beyond their routine chores

💌 Save this for reference and share it with a parent who might find it useful!

The Year of the Horse is right around the corner! 🐴 Before your child eagerly tears open their ang paos, here is a 5-step guide on how to help them manage their ang pao money:

1️⃣ SPLIT WISELY

Before a single dollar of your child’s ang pao money is used, give every dollar a job using the 4-3-2-1 system. Allocate 40% to spending, 30% to saving, 20% to sn*******ng and 10% to sharing. Giving each dollar a clear purpose from the start helps build financial discipline.

2️⃣ SPEND INTENTIONALLY

Many parents think saving all of their child’s ang pao money for them is the responsible thing to do. But that can be a missed learning opportunity. Go shopping together instead. Help them compare prices before buying, teach them to spend on what they genuinely care about and discuss cost per use. Spending nurtures your child’s decision-making skills.

3️⃣ SAVE STRATEGICALLY

Saving is good. Saving smart is better. Do not deposit all of your child’s ang pao money at once into their savings account for minimal interest. Teach them how to save consistently using the POSB Smart Buddy’s Smiley Stamps programme.

💡 Pro Tip: Drip your child’s ang pao money to them each month so they can complete one Smiley Stamps card comprising 20 digital stamps. Each stamp costs $0.50, meaning a completed card represents $10 in savings. The $10 and a $1 bonus will be credited to your child’s account the following month.

Note that the $1 bonus is limited to one award per month. Even so, this small hack provides a 10% return on the $10 stamp value, which is significantly higher than the 0.05% p.a. interest banks typically offer for regular savings.

More details here: https://www.posb.com.sg/personal/deposits/bank-with-ease/posb-smart-buddy

4️⃣ SNOWBALL EARLY

Time is the real advantage. Use your child’s ang pao money as seed capital to begin their investment journey. If a 10-year-old invests 20% of $888, which is $177.60, this Chinese New Year and earns 8% annually, they will have almost 11 times their original investment by the time they reach 40! The earlier they start, the stronger the compounding.

Start with one of these platforms:

1. Syfe Syfe - Tag portfolios to your child
2. FSMOne FSMGlobal SG - Open a beneficiary account for your child
3. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Interactive Brokers - Make an additional account for your child under your username

5️⃣ SHARE MEANINGFULLY

Generosity is a money habit too. Let your child choose a cause they care about. Animals, children or any cause close to their heart.

💡Pro Tip: Donate to a charity which is an approved Institution of a Public Character (IPC) on your child’s behalf, so you can enjoy tax deductions of 2.5 times the qualifying donation amount during the next tax season. Remember to provide your particulars to the IPC so that your eligible donation is transmitted to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for auto-inclusion in your tax returns.

Your child learns to give, while you get a tax deduction. This Chinese New Year, everyone benefits! 🧧

More details here: https://www.iras.gov.sg/who-we-are/what-we-do/annual-reports-and-publications/taxbytes-iras/individuals/do-good-deeds-and-pay-less-tax

Found this guide helpful? Share it with a fellow parent!

We have a new home! Visit us at learnwithbite.com to try out BITE today. Your child’s go-to space for real-world money learning.

Turn your next family movie night into a teaching moment with these 3 films packed with hidden money lessons!

Perfect for parents who want to teach financial literacy to kids without lectures or worksheets.

🎈Up (Now streaming on Disney+ Disney)

More than just a heartwarming adventure, “Up” shows how saving for goals requires patience, how unexpected emergencies can derail our plans and how having too many possessions can hold us back. A beautiful reminder to thoughtfully consider what we truly need versus what we simply want.

🐸 The Princess and the Frog (Now streaming on Disney+ Disney)

“The Princess and the Frog” is one of Disney’s most financially grounded stories. It teaches kids to save with purpose, delay gratification, use money to build a meaningful life and pair hard work with smart choices, not shortcuts.

⚾ Moneyball (Now streaming on Netflix Netflix)

“Moneyball” looks like a baseball film, but it is actually a masterclass in smart financial thinking for teenagers. Inspired by Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane, the film demonstrates that good decisions should be guided by data, that price and value are not the same and that long-term strategies may feel boring or unpopular at first, yet often deliver the strongest results.

Save this for your next family movie night and follow .singapore for more parenting tips!

Learn more at learnwithbite.com.