Two financial literacy experts say Labour's policy to introduce compulsory money management education to schools will benefit not just those it teaches but the country as a whole.
Labour today announced the policy, which leader Chris Hipkins said would come at no extra cost to the taxpayer.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti said it would not add to teachers' workload.
Banqer provides financial literacy education to hundreds of schools in New Zealand and Australia and its co-chief executive Simon Brown said many New Zealanders were "going backwards" financially, or not taking advantage of opportunities.
It's a policy aimed at addressing low levels of money and budgeting skills among school leavers, the party said. (Source: 1News)
Financial literacy would help open those doors for them, he said.
Financial products and services were also "more complicated than ever", so kids needed to know how to engage with them before adulthood.
That included pay day lending, loan sharks and app-based buy now pay later services, he said.
Brown said there were some inequities built into the area, such as that children from schools in lower socio-economic areas tended to also be behind on basic literacy and numeracy, let alone financial literacy.
"The cards are sort of inherently stacked against them."
He said financial education was approached on a "haphazard basis" in schools.
"At the moment, I think we leave financial education to chance too much.
"We see some schools who do a fantastic job of it. Others it falls by the wayside, and some who sort of just bury their heads in a busy curriculum.
"For something which is just a core life skill to have that prioritised and compulsory in a curriculum, I think can only lead to good outcomes for our country."
Brown said he would love to see the implementation of financial education earlier than 2025 but acknowledged the lead in time would allow schools to make the transition.
David Boyle was previously the Retirement Commission's investor education general manager.
He said Labour's policy was a "really good initiative" and it would add a lot of value not just to children but to the country.
"Better financial skills just adds a lot across the board."
He people needed to know the basics of finances, and understand the value of it.
"School's a great place to do that."
He said learning skills, particularly around debt, at an early age, could be "a massive advantage".
Boyle said financial literacy education throughout school would help lift the confidence of New Zealanders to talk about money and applying basic principles to improve financial wellbeing.
He said it was important there was space in the curriculum for it.
"The benefits for the country may not be as obvious now but but in 20 or 30 years' time, I think it would be very exciting to see where we were at."
National deputy leader Nicola Willis said her party would deliver financial literacy to kids better than Labour.
"We, if elected, will deliver financial literacy in schools. It's a shame this wasn't done earlier as part of the curriculum changes, but it is certainly something we'd like to see happen.
"It will happen. It is something that we are committed to delivering."
She said the policy was something a lot of people had "been pressuring for, for a long time".
Asked if that meant Labour's announcement had prompted National to announce theirs, Willis said: "It's certainly something that we were planning to say more about in this campaign".
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