The Short Story

For their birthday, I always give my niece Hailey and nephew Miles an activity that we do together. It's always so much fun to spend the day together, it's about building a relationship, and memories! My niece was turning 8 years old this year and I wanted to expose her to how much an activity was worth, so she could start understanding the value of money.

I grew up in a household where money was a delicate subject, scarcity was looming around the corner and emotions regarding money ran high. As one might expect, this led me to gain very little education around the subject, yet accumulate a lot of fear around it. When I reached advanced adulthood and I felt like I was dog paddling when it came to my finances, I decided to give myself the financial education I needed to achieve my goals.

Now well on the other side of all the blocks I had regarding money, I wanted to pay it forward to the people that I care about the most, so that they could grow up feeling safe and aware about this important subject.

I made Hailey a card in which I put the sum of money I was willing to spend for her birthday. The card was 3 folds, (1) Save (2) Choose (3) Explore. What I discovered is that this card allowed her to put real money into practice, learn through experience and have a good time while doing it. This opened up the subject of money between us, she now asks me and her parents questions which fills me with joy.

My experience using Tout Compte! with Hailey and Miles was so positive I wanted to make it accessible to more families and children. I contacted a women-led business in Montreal called maubau and pitched my story. They received this idea with so much excitement and creativity that the final result is beyond my expectations!