If we had a dollar for every time we thought about money—and how to manage it—our bank accounts would probably be looking a bit healthier.

But before you blame that extra latte (and the unplanned Uber ride home after that wine-filled dinner out with a friend), take a moment to think: how did you learn about money?

Truthfully, most of us learn from our parents, school and the experience of getting our first job (hello tax file number and superannuation fund I don’t actually understand). But for a lot of young adults this isn’t enough.

And according to the National Financial Capability Strategy 2022, most young people want more financial education that focuses on practical and real-life money management—and with only 42 per cent of young Australians feeling comfortable managing their money, it’s no wonder so many people have money on the mind.

But the good news is a group of young Canberrans are trying to redress that balance.

Founded in 2019 with the support of the YWCA Canberra Great Ydeas grant, the Money Bites team believe that changing financial literacy education needs to start with young people.

And according to founder Kate Crowhurst (a financial literacy expert who was a finalist in the 2021 Australian of the Year Local Hero awards for her work on financial literacy in the community), it’s as simple as starting with a conversation.

“We need to start with co-design and partner with young people to understand what they need when it comes to learning more about money. We want to hear what challenges young people are facing in Canberra and their ideas about what is important when it comes to finances and money,” Kate explains.

To facilitate this, the Money Bites team— including Kate, Ben Gill and Natalie Marcinkewycz— will be holding a co-design workshop at the Canberra Innovation Network on Saturday 30 July.

“We want to hear from young people aged 18 to 25 who are living, working or studying in Canberra,” says Kate. “Whatever we create needs to be directly informed by their experience to respond to the challenges and opportunities young people have in the ACT.”

The co-design process kicks off on Saturday morning at 10 am and the Money Bites team are asking young Canberrans to come along and participate in the process. And not only will you have the chance to make money more manageable—anyone who participates will receive a gift voucher to recognise and thank them for their time.

“Money can be awkward to talk about but it’s something that affects all of us. If you want to feel more confident in managing money, the first step is to get comfortable talking about it,” says Kate.

Register here for the Financial Literacy Co-Design Workshop on Saturday 30 July from 10am-12pm.

Originally published by HerCanberra.