Montreal Grade 11 students create financial literacy magazine, win $10K

UPDATE: Laïla Lescot, Sarah Leshob and Elena Feddag won the $10,000 grand prize for “Creators of Wealth Teens magazine” – award winners were announced on Thursday, June 16.

A trio of Montreal teenagers found a creative way to make financial literacy compelling and fun – and it could nab them a big cash prize.

Finances aren’t always easy to understand, especially for teens and young adults.

Three high schoolers from Montreal – Laïla Lescot, Sarah Leshob and Elena Feddag – took on the challenge to creatively engage their peers to learn about finances.

It’s part of the “My Money My Future” competition on financial literacy. They are the regional winners and national finalists, and could win $10,000.

“As soon as I ended the call, I phoned my friends,” recounted 17-year-old Lescot. “And we were just so happy, you know, because we put all our full hearts into this project and we just really wanted it to pay off.”

“At the beginning of the year, we had our first financial literacy class and we have to do so much things that were so important and it just piqued our interest and we really loved it,” added Leshob, also 17. “And then I find out they found out about the contest and I was like, OK this is the perfect opportunity.”

The Grade 11 students from Collège Jean-Eudes created a magazine where you follow the main character who goes through the chapters of a young person’s journey into finances.

The cover of Wealth-Teens magazine. (Credit: Laïla Lescot, Sarah Leshob and Elena Feddag/handout)

“Basically we’re guiding youth in two or three big steps in their lives,” said Leshob. “Your first job, your first pay and the times you’re going to apply to go to college.

“We started by explaining what’s the salary, what’s the minimum wage, remuneration, and all the difference between those financial terms. And then we also talked about roles and responsibilities you have when you have a job. We talked about how to use credit cards, how to save for college, how much does it cost and everything that’s so important for you to know and that everybody should know before starting your financial journey.”

The contest was launched by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE).

“Money management, youth spending, youth saving,” said Brian Smith, vice-president for Quebec’s chapter of the CFEE. “We have to find creative ways to bring financial literacy into the classroom. So that was actually one of the reasons for this competition. It’s not always a fun, exciting subject.”

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According to an IPSOS survey, 15 per cent of Canadians believe they have strong financial literacy skills and 39 per cent rate their knowledge as poor.

Ninety-four per cent of respondents say the public school system curriculum needs to better prepare students by teaching them financial literacy skills.

“Our relationship with money has changed,” said Smith. “People are not carrying cash as much. People are using cards more. More youth are online. Most people are online.

“And we find that people are spending more money. Companies are making it easy for us to spend, so we have to have some type of control, some type of education. And this is why it’s important that we get financial literacy into the schools.”

If they win the grand prize, the girls are planning to invest their money in the stock market, save for their future studies and business endeavours.

The showcase and awards will be presented on June 16 at 12 p.m.