When kids think credit cards are magic
In this episode of Money Hacks by The Business Times, host Howie Lim speaks with Dawn Cher, founder of SG Budget Babe and author of Budgeting for Families, and Janice See, financial literacy educator with Junior Achievement Singapore. The conversation tackles how early parents should start teaching kids about money, and whether modern tech and cashless payments are making it harder or just different.
The moment our kids see us swipe our card or scan our phone, they're learning. The question is, what are they learning?
Why listen?
Because good habits beat good intentions Most parents want their kids to be smart with money. But many are unknowingly passing on emotional triggers, bad spending behaviour and a fear-based view of finance.
Because children don't learn finance from lectures Cher shares how she turned supermarket trips into budgeting games, and why making mistakes young on small dollar amounts is the best kind of lesson.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 3 pm Thrive
Money, career and life hacks to help young adults stay ahead of the curve.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Because digital money makes things fuzzier See explains why cashless payments can disconnect kids from the concept of value and how to help them grasp that money is finite, even if it lives in a smartwatch.
Because you might need a financial reset yourself If you're living paycheque to paycheque despite a solid income, it might be time to rewire your own money mindset before passing it on.
Money Hacks helps listeners make sense of the dollars and cents shaping real lives. Listen now at bt.sg/podcasts. Got an idea for a future episode? Drop the team a note at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
---
Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@sph.com.sg)
With Dawn Sher, author & founder of SG Budget Babe; and Janice See, financial literacy educator with Junior Achievement Singapore
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
---
Follow BT Money Hacks podcasts every Monday:
Channel: bt.sg/btmoneyhacks
Amazon: bt.sg/mham
Apple Podcasts: bt.sg/oeXe
Spotify: bt.sg/oeGN
YouTube Music: bt.sg/mhyt
Website: bt.sg/moneyhacks
Do note: This podcast is meant to provide general information only. SPH Media accepts no liability for loss arising from any reliance on the podcast or use of third party's products and services. Please consult professional advisors for independent advice.
---
Discover more BT podcast series:
BT Correspondents: bt.sg/btcobt
BT Market Focus at: bt.sg/btmktfocus
BT Podcasts at: bt.sg/pcOM
BT Branded Podcasts at: bt.sg/brpod
BT Lens On: bt.sg/btlenson
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
39 minutes ago
- Business Times
US: S&P 500 closes at 5th straight record
[NEW YORK] The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at fresh all-time records on Friday (Jul 25) amid optimism over US trade deals, concluding a winning week on a positive note. Markets stayed hopeful that US President Donald Trump's trade deal with Japan this week will be followed by accords with other major trade partners, averting major tariffs due at the White House's Aug 1 deadline. Investors have also greeted generally benign data that suggest the US economy is on solid ground, said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones. 'That might change in the months ahead, but for now, we have an economy that is holding up,' Kourkafas said. The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 6,388.64, up 0.4 per cent, its fifth straight closing record. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 21,108.32, closing at a third straight record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to 44,901.92. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Besides trade negotiations, investors are looking ahead to a heavy earnings calendar next week, with Apple, Amazon and other large tech companies reporting results. Those are the market's largest companies, 'so any hiccups there will have an implication for the broader market,' Kourkafas said. Among individual companies, Intel dropped 8.5 per cent after reporting a US$2.9 billion loss as it announced further cost-cutting initiatives. The company said it has cut about 15 per cent of its workforce. But Deckers Outdoor surged 11.4 per cent after reporting better than expected results. Revenues at the footwear retailer jumped 16.9 per cent to US$964.5 million. AFP
Business Times
39 minutes ago
- Business Times
The EU-China Summit That Barely Happened
WHEN expectations are at rock bottom, simply showing up counts as progress. That is the story of this week's EU-China summit in Beijing – a hastily truncated, one-day event after China's President Xi Jinping declined to travel to Brussels. The absence of a formal joint communique and the palpable lack of deliverables should not obscure a critical fact that this meeting still matters. The reality of interdependence Despite rising tensions, the European Union (EU) and China together account for roughly a third of global gross domestic product and 30 per cent of world trade. Their economies are intertwined, and their geopolitical futures increasingly entangled. Whether on trade, climate action, or global security, EU-China relations have outsized consequences that go far beyond the boundaries of Brussels and Beijing. That is why, even in a climate of mistrust and mutual suspicion, face-to-face dialogue at the highest level is a meaningful step forward. Given how close the summit came to not happening at all, Xi's confirmation – reportedly just days before – signals a reluctant but essential recognition: disengagement is not a viable strategy. Fractured trust and strategic calculus The optics were clear. A shortened visit, no banquet, and icy body language contrast sharply with the six-day red-carpet treatment extended to Australia's prime minister just a week ago. The EU is not currently in Beijing's diplomatic good books, and the reasons are manifold. First and foremost is Ukraine. China's tacit support for Russia's war has alarmed European policymakers. Beijing's reported position that a Russian loss could embolden US pressure in Asia, reflects a calculus starkly misaligned with European values. The EU's recent sanctions on two Chinese banks linked to Russian military supply chains have further strained ties. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up China's restriction of rate earth exports to Europe, after easing them for the US, has inflamed tensions across the EU industry. Though fast-tracked licences have been promised, details remain opaque. And for industries already grappling with competitiveness in areas like clean tech, automotive and computing, the uncertainty is as damaging as the restrictions themselves. Caught between powers Europe's dilemma is exacerbated by the looming presence of the US. Even absent from the summit table, Washington was very much 'in the room'. Both China and the EU are calibrating their moves with one wary eye on US trade policy. China fears a transatlantic deal that will shut it out while the EU fears becoming the dumping ground for excess Chinese goods that can no longer enter American markets. Also, the timing of this summit could not have been worse. With the US trade deadline looming on Aug 1, the incentive on all sides is to avoid provocation. But long-term alignment remains murky. The EU's attempt to 'de-risk' from China, as EU President Ursula von der Leyen has framed it, involves walking a tightrope: reducing strategic dependencies without provoking confrontation. That is a hard sell in both Beijing and Washington. The search for leverage elsewhere China is not the only partner the EU is looking at. Negotiations with Australia, South-east Asia and Mercosur signal a concerted push to diversify trade partnerships. While these will not fully offset dependence on China, they send a clear message: Europe is broadening its options. Climate change might seem like one area ripe for cooperation. Both the EU and China have deadlines approaching for commitments ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Yet even here, progress is stymied. The EU refuses to endorse any joint declaration unless China offers firmer pledges on emission reductions. The concern? That aligning too closely with Beijing could strain transatlantic ties. Small steps, significant implications So, will this summit be deemed a success? That depends on the yardstick. If the expectations are major breakthroughs or a reset in bilateral relations, then ultimately it will be a disappointment all around. But in geopolitics, showing up can sometimes be half the battle. In a world becoming more fragmented and multipolar, structured engagement, however imperfect, is still our best hope. The EU and China may not trust each other much, but they understand that coexistence, and even cooperation, are inescapable. And that, in today's world, is reason enough to keep talking. The writer is senior partner at Penta, based in Brussels
Business Times
39 minutes ago
- Business Times
Trump's self-defeating trade agenda
WHILE US President Donald Trump pursued a range of protectionist policies during his first term, the economic chaos and uncertainty he has unleashed since returning to the White House and launching his global trade war make those earlier efforts look mild by comparison. Railing against countries that run trade surpluses with the US, Trump has vowed to impose 'reciprocal tariffs' until all of America's trade deficits are eliminated. Yet he has imposed sweeping tariffs even on countries with which the US runs a trade surplus, such as Australia. The Trump administration has cited a wide range of reasons for its tariff hikes beyond reducing bilateral trade deficits, including national security, job creation and raising government revenue. The president and his advisers claim that other countries will be forced to negotiate and ultimately lower their own tariffs on US goods. But the recent deal between the US and the United Kingdom, which imposes a 10 per cent levy on most British exports, shows that even Trump's 'reduced' tariffs remain historically high. The unpredictability of his trade policies poses a grave threat to the global economy. Trump's tariff announcements have been followed by numerous delays and revisions, and his deadlines for finalising new trade deals have come and gone, only to be extended again. This erratic trade policy, combined with his apparent reluctance to follow through on his threats, has given rise to the nickname 'Taco', or 'Trump Always Chickens Out'. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up So far, the Trump administration has secured new trade agreements with only a handful of countries, and even those have come with unexpected conditions. Earlier this month, for example, Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam that imposes a 20 per cent tariff on Vietnamese imports, but only if Vietnam eliminates its own tariffs on US goods and its exports contain no Chinese components; otherwise, the rate jumps to 40 per cent. While that's lower than Trump's original rate of 46 per cent, it's still far higher than the 11 per cent that Vietnamese policymakers reportedly believed they had negotiated. Indonesia, for its part, accepted a 19 per cent tariff in exchange for granting most US goods duty-free access to its domestic market. So much for fairness and reciprocity. Similarly, tariffs on Chinese goods jumped from 10 per cent to 145 per cent, then were returned to 10 per cent – at least temporarily. But the average US tariff on Chinese imports still stands at 51.1 per cent, and Trump could raise it again if the two countries fail to reach a trade deal by Aug 12. Trump has also threatened to impose 30 per cent tariffs on the European Union (EU) and Mexico. While EU policymakers are hoping to avoid the tariffs through negotiations, they are reportedly considering retaliatory 'anti-coercion' measures of their own. Adding to the uncertainty are the president's tariff hikes and new restrictions on commodity imports. Since January, the US has raised steel, aluminium and copper tariffs to 50 per cent and imposed a 25 per cent tariff on auto parts. Although he claims that his deal with China will ensure US access to rare earth minerals, their status remains in limbo amid ongoing trade tensions. More than one million different tariff rates The entire process has been marked by confusion and inconsistency. For example, the administration imposed tariffs on imported urea – a key fertiliser input – from Qatar and Algeria, but not from Russia. As a result, by May, Russia was supplying 64 per cent of urea imports to the US, double its previous share. As if that weren't enough, some of Trump's actions serve no discernible economic purpose. Most notably, he has threatened to hit Brazil with 50 per cent tariffs to pressure its government not to prosecute former president – and Trump ally – Jair Bolsonaro. Likewise, he reimposed tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, despite clear evidence that job losses due to increases in input costs were far greater than the employment gains in protected industries during his first term. When tariffs vary by country and can change at a moment's notice, chaos is inevitable. There are currently more than 10,000 tariff classifications covering imports from over 160 countries. This means there could be more than one million different tariff rates, leaving customs officials and shippers to navigate an increasingly unmanageable system. Many of Trump's tariffs are ostensibly intended to strengthen national security, but it's difficult to see how targeting allies like Canada helps achieve that goal, especially since cutting off foreign suppliers would only drive up the cost of defence procurement. Moreover, allied countries could help the US increase production of certain goods when necessary, thereby supporting domestic capacity. Trump's tariffs will harm the US economy in several significant ways. For starters, contrary to his claims, raising tariffs does not reduce trade deficits. In fact, it undermines investment and trade, as well as increases the real cost of imported goods and provokes retaliation – hurting exports. The irony is that increased domestic production, spurred by protectionist policies, reduces the volume of imports – and with it, tariff revenues. In some cases, tariffs work at cross purposes: steel tariffs, for example, raise input costs for automakers. Consequently, tariff revenues will likely fall far short of the administration's expectations. As for job creation, some firms benefiting from tariff protection may invest in automation to replace human workers, especially in industries that rely on low-skilled labour. By contrast, firms in import-competing or export-oriented sectors are likely to respond to ongoing uncertainty over future tariffs by delaying capacity expansion. Another troubling consequence of the current tariff regime is the increasingly visible rise of crony capitalism, as a steady stream of foreign officials and American business executives descends on Washington to lobby for tariff exemptions and protections. Six months into his second presidency, it is abundantly clear that there is no coherent rationale behind Trump's tariffs. They are costly and haphazard, undermining economic growth and turning the free market that once drove US productivity into a breeding ground for rent-seeking and corruption. PROJECT SYNDICATE The writer, a former World Bank chief economist and former first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, is senior research professor of international economics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and senior fellow at the Center for International Development at Stanford University
