Andi Manzano shares how she makes saving money fun for her daughter, Olivia

Celebrity mom Andi Manzano-Reyes learned the value of saving money at an early age.

“I got my first paycheck when I was nine years old. I did an ad for a newspaper and I got P10, 000 for it,” she recalled during a recent webinar hosted by Manulife Philippines.

The virtual event marked the launching of the children's book Manny and Liv and Yaman Bayan based on Manulife's Peso Smart financial literacy program designed to teach youngsters the value of saving, budgeting, and investing money.

“My mom said, 'Since it's your first paycheck, I'll let you spend it since you earned it. So you would know how it is to earn and enjoy your money at the same time.'”

In the end, Andi bought a Barbie bicycle and saved the rest of her earnings in a bank account opened for her by her mom.

“So at a young age, I was taught already the value of money. I knew that money was not something given to me, but something that you had to work for, something that was earned.”

Andi would carry that lesson later on in life. She recalled saving as much as 70 percent of her salary with the rest allocated to paying the bills.

And now that she's a mom, Andi is slowly passing on to her daughter Olivia the money lessons that she applied growing up.

“I started teaching her [Olivia, her eldest daughter] early this year. Before she used to have a piggy bank. It was just for fun like putting the coins, you know for her to just kinda fill it up,” said the DJ-host.

“But it was just recently lang talaga that I was able to teach her about money because I bought play money for her. And she would know the colors of the money, so I'd be like 'Okay, this is P20, this is P100, this P500' and we would always play like selling-selling.

“Or sometimes she would have her own parlor and she would put nail polish on me and I'd have to pay her P100,” she laughed.

“It's playtime but I'm slowly teaching her the value of money. So, sometimes if she wants to buy something with her play money I'd be like, 'Yeah, but you don't have enough money so you have to do something.'

“I try to make it fun for her.”

THE POWER OF WORDS AND IMAGINATION

The concept of saving and investing is not commonly taught in schools and at home.

This is seemingly inherent in our culture where talking about money is often met with discomfort.

I think for our culture there's a hiya component to it also. There's a pride thing that comes with talking about money,” pondered Dr. Raphael Inocencio, founder of Better Steps Psychology support group.

“It's also because a lot of adults and young adults are not aware of it themselves, they're clueless about how to manage their money. A lot of people are not aware that this has to be talked about. We're just not used to it.”

One technique that would make it easier for kids to grasp the concept of saving is through storytelling.

Storytelling, after all, stimulates the imagination and leaves a lasting impression on a child both mentally and emotionally.

SHARING IS CARING

Saving also means having enough to share with those around you, especially the less privileged.

“They're looking at us [parents]. It's really how you model what you're doing. So if you show children how you share these resources based on the value of love and kindness, then they will realize it,” explained Dr. Inocencio.

“It's easier for them to digest and know na that's what we do pala as a family and so that's what they'll also do.”

Andi - who has two kids with husband, businessman GP Reyes - wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

Andi was actually among the celebrities who extended help to the people badly affected by typhoon Ulysses.

Through donations, Andi and her sisters were able to send relief goods to typhoon victims in Cagayan, Bicol, Isabela, Marikina, and Rizal.

“Olivia would always ask me when we're in the car and she would see street kids asking for money. She would always say, 'Mom, do you have money or do we have extra food?' Because she sees me do it,” said Andi.

“Like recently we packed relief goods and I really wanted her to be part of it. I know sometimes it can get stressful when there's a kid around cause they want to do everything. But I wanted her to see how we were able to buy these things, and how we're packing these things, and where it's going,” she said.

“I want to make her understand that giving makes you happy.”