400,000 students are learning about money through a free program.

A new, nationwide initiative has made significant progress in its goal to provide young Australians with essential financial skills. Led by the not-for-profit organization Ecstra, the "Talk Money" program has already reached a milestone of nearly 400,000 students. Recently, 9News spoke to students at Blacktown Boys High School in Sydney's west who had just completed these in-class lessons.

One student, Ayaan, admitted that before participating in the program, his understanding of money was "pretty elementary." He had a general idea of how income and taxes worked, but it wasn't very in-depth. Another student, Parin, shared that he had studied economics and knew all the fancy definitions, but he didn't truly understand what they meant. This highlights the need for a dedicated financial literacy component in schools.

That's where Ecstra's Talk Money program comes in. By partnering with schools, they aim to enhance existing financial education programs. As chief executive Caroline Stewart explains, students who study subjects like math or economics are exposed to many financial concepts. However, unless they specifically choose these electives, some students may go through their entire schooling without a comprehensive understanding of financial literacy.

Since its launch in 2022, Talk Money has become the largest face-to-face, free financial education program for students in years five to 10 in the country. It has successfully educated over 400,000 students through 9900 workshops. This achievement is a testament to the program's effectiveness and the importance of equipping young Australians with financial skills.

To make this valuable program even more accessible, Ecstra has also released a 9News app. Through this app, users can stay updated on all the latest breaking news, sports, politics, and weather. They can also receive notifications straight to their smartphones. The app is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play. With this app, even more students and their families can benefit from Talk Money and improve their financial literacy.

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