Personal finance was the order of the day, as students at Bacons' College participated in our WYZ Money workshop. On 1 Feb 2022, we supported 180 students in Year 9, covering various personal finance topics including budgeting and saving.
We delivered two workshops, with each group comprising approximately 90 students. We were thrilled to have four members of the Commercial Sales team of a leading soft drinks company with us. The Commercial team supported both workshops and shared how they apply the topics in their work and personal lives.
Never a dull moment
As usual with our workshops, there was high engagement from the students and lots of amazing questions!
The topic of Tax triggered lots of great discussion and the Y9 group were already thinking about pensions and inheritance tax! The students showed a keen interest in the topics, so much so that they stayed behind during their break to ask more questions! They were also really interested in the commercial world.
Some of our favourite questions were:
"Can someone else pay your taxes for you?"
Whilst there might be some generous folks who are willing to contribute to your tax bill, the payment responsibility rests with you.
"What happens to the things you own, if you die without a will?"
A bit of a morbid question but an important one. There are rules that apply in this case, called rules of intestacy. If you have no living relatives, your assets go to the Crown.
"What happens if you don't pay your taxes?"
It depends on which tax hasn't been paid and why, but deliberate non-payment can lead to a fine and even imprisonment.
Educating for the future
The students had a range of career aspirations and recognised the importance of personal finance in whatever job they choose.
With tax increases on the horizon in the UK, these topics are even more relevant.
"With National Insurance increasing in April, it is even more important that young people understand how these changes could impact their lives. Planting the seed with young people today helps them to be financially responsible adults tomorrow" - Ralph, Trustee & Co-Founder of Open Palm
We really appreciate our external speakers Neil, Nick, Tom and Jake, plus our Open Palm volunteers who all volunteered their time to support the workshops.
"It was a pleasure to take part in these workshops and we look forward to more in future" - Nick and Tom, Commercial Sales team
We look forward to continuing to support the students of Bacons' College and welcoming them on to our WYZ Money course.
If you're interested in a free workshop for your school or youth group, please email us at wyz@openpalm.org.uk