To date, over 4,000 students had participated in such activities. 13. Today, I'm pleased to announce a new programme to encourage students who have attended MoneySENSE activities arranged by their schools to be "MoneySENSE Ambassadors". This includes the many students here today for the inter-school MoneySENSE games competition. 14. Having learnt some basic money management skills through the workshops, I hope you will use these skills and pass them on to your friends. An important step towards good money management is to plan your expenditure and savings. As "MoneySENSE Ambassadors", you will first draw up your own pocket money budget. You can do so with the MoneySENSE pocket money budget available on the MoneySENSE website. Encourage your friends to also take the first step in managing their money and draw up their own pocket money budgets. 15. Of course, it is not only about drawing up a budget. After you have drawn up your budgets, remember to monitor your expenses and spend within your means. It is a simple discipline that's really worth putting into practice from young. The MoneySENSible Awards 16. Some may think that financial planning is only for the rich. This is a big misperception. Regardless of our backgrounds and jobs, it is important to set our financial goals and map out how we intend to achieve them. The earlier we start, as individuals and as families, the easier it is to achieve our financial goals. 17.
There is also a supermarket contest to illustrate the importance of spending within your budget, plus a chef to show you how you can cook up a storm without spending a bomb. 6. There are plans to bring these activities to other parts of Singapore, and several community centres are in discussions with MoneySENSE. Important Role of Media 7. The media is still the most effective channel for financial education. In the national financial literacy survey conducted by MoneySENSE, 54% of the respondents said they were interested to learn about financial education through mass media. 8. I am glad the local newspapers have been very supportive in running MoneySENSE articles on a regular basis. The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and Berita Harian have been doing so regularly for more than two years. Other publications like Today and Smart Investor have also begun to run regular MoneySENSE columns. I would like to thank all of you for partnering us in this important effort, and I would like to see this continue. 9. MoneySENSE will soon launch a TV game show requiring participants to make financial decisions such as on whether to purchase certain items, whether to take on more credit, whether to take up insurance and whether to invest in certain financial products. A preview of this new TV game show will be staged at this Roadshow on Sunday. So look out for this sneak preview. BIS Review 30/2006  1  10. These are all good initiatives.