Money Talk with Joyce in Hong Kong, SAR-China

There will be fewer plastic bottles to recycle in Joyce’s household because she is changing her spending habits. Now, she intends to save more of her pocket money instead of buying expensive drinks on the way home from school. 

Joyce recently participated in JA Building a Financially Capable Generation,™ a learning experience that covers financial concepts and skills such as income and expenses, needs versus wants, budgeting, saving, and spending wisely. Along with her fellow 8th grade peers, Joyce learned how to make good decisions and have a proactive mindset when it comes to managing her own money.  

Volunteers from HSBC joined JA educators to deliver the hands-on financial capability workshop in Hong Kong, SAR—China, and 16 additional locations around the world. 

We sat down with Joyce to talk about her own financial capability journey and to ask her thoughts about what she needs to become empowered, confident, and capable when it comes to managing her money.

Note: Joyce’s responses have been gently edited for clarity and length.

What do you take away from this learning experience?

“I understand more about how financial capability shows up in my family. One of my family members is in debt because they did not really know how to prioritize spending money on what they need instead of what they want. So now I understand why my dad is always telling us to not spend money on things we don’t really need, and if something is broken, we should try to fix it before we buy a new one.”

What do you wish you had learned earlier?

“I think it has to do with prioritizing how I spend or save money, and differentiating between needs and wants. For example, if I am thirsty on my way home from school, do I really need to spend money on an unhealthy drink at 7-Eleven? Or can I save that money and just drink something when I get home?”

What is one of your favorite moments from the learning experience?

“One highlight for me is when the volunteers gave us this huge checklist that had things on it like clothing and pocket money and we had to think about what was income and what was an expense. Pocket money got me thinking - it is an expense for my parents, but income for me. I had thought of my allowance more like income and didn’t really think about the other side of it.”

What advice would you give to your friends when it comes to making smart decisions with their money? 

“I would talk to them about prioritizing how they spend their money. I heard my classmates talking about how they got the newest iPhone or iPad, which is great and all, but they already have an iPhone or an iPad - or both! They don’t really need to spend their money on another one just because it’s the newest model. Maybe they can save it instead.” 

Is there anything you learned in this program that you want to share with your parents?

“One thing I would say is that when we go shopping together and my little brother wants to buy a toy, maybe they shouldn’t buy him so many toys. Most of them just go in his wardrobe and he never plays with them. They are something he wants, but not something he needs.”

Do you have anything you would like to say to the volunteers who helped you and your classmates learn how to become financially capable?

“Thank you to the volunteers. I learned a vast amount from them, especially about how I should prioritize spending. I really gained a new perspective on how to make smart decisions.”