Classroom Financial Literacy Education: Distinguishing Needs from Wants for Elementary School Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59422/lp.v4i04.1673Keywords:
financial literacy, needs and wants, elementary school student, saving education, community serviceAbstract
Financial literacy is an essential skill that must be introduced to elementary school students to foster prudent financial behavior. This community service activity aimed to enhance elementary school students' understanding of the distinction between needs and wants, as well as to cultivate early habits of wise spending and saving. The program was conducted at SD Inpres Samata, Gowa Regency, targeting 30 sixth-grade students. The methodology employed interactive education, which commenced with a pre-test, followed by interactive instruction, discussions, educational games, and pocket money management simulations, concluding with a post-test. The results demonstrated an increase in the percentage of correct answers from the pre-test to the post-test across all indicators: the ability to distinguish between needs and wants rose from 30% to 70%, prioritizing spending increased from 30% to 75%, understanding the benefits of saving grew from 35% to 80%, and identifying examples of frugal behavior improved from 40% to 80%. In conclusion, this classroom-based financial literacy education effectively enhanced basic financial knowledge and the understanding of consumption priorities among elementary school students
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