A primary six schoolboy used to spend extravagantly, without even giving a second thought, but his attitude has changed after he attended a financial management course last year.

Jack Ho, a student at Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, was a big spender and often treated his classmates to snacks, which he claimed gave him a sense of pride.

However, he was inspired to set up a budget plan after attending a three-month course "Financial Literacy Lesson Plan (FLLP)" which was introduced last September and co-organized by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA) and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI).

The course attracted 1,440 students from eight primary and secondary schools.

FLLP aims to teach students the importance of financial management, help them distinguish between necessity and luxury goods, and encourage them to devise their own saving plans.

Now Ho only treats himself to snacks as a reward for good academic results.

He has saved about HK$1,000 over the past three months and donated half of it to victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

"It's very meaningful to help others with my money," he said.

BGCA supervisor Denny Yeung said it is quite a common phenomenon nowadays that students spend extravagantly or even borrow money from others to satisfy their materialistic desires.

HKFI president Agnes Koon added that the correct value about money should be instilled in children.

Of the participants, 1,196 answered a follow-up survey conducted by the BGCA.

About 70 percent of the secondary school students and 81 percent of primary school students had applied the knowledge they learnt during the course in real life.

Respectively 86 and 91 percent of secondary and primary school students said the course had made them realize the importance of saving money.

The survey revealed that respectively 80 and 83 percent of the secondary and primary school students found themselves much more able to distinguish between necessity and luxury goods now.

Yeung urges parents to pay attention to how their children spend money, and children to learn the virtue of helpingpeople in need.

(HK Edition 05/23/2008 page1)