The woman on a mission to make financial confidence the new life skill

Why Christina Lartey believes the best money lessons start early. By Simone Noakes

- By Simone Noakes

When she left home for university, Christina Lartey discovered what so many young people do: that managing money is a skill no one really teaches you.

"Like a lot of students, it was my first time handling a proper chunk of money," she says. "Luckily, my older sister had already taught me the basics, how to budget and stay within my means. What I didn't know was how to make my money work for me. No one ever talked to us about starting early or that even small, regular amounts could grow into something meaningful over time. At that age, investing just wasn't part of the conversation."

Even as a finance student, Christina found the theory didn't line up with real life.

"Ironically, I was studying finance, but none of it helped me manage my own money. I knew the models and equations but not how to apply them day to day. I saw so many students overspending, getting credit cards or dipping into their overdrafts without realising the long-term cost."

The result was that instead of graduating with small savings or early investments, many people were starting adulthood with debt hanging over their heads, and interest quietly piling up. "That's when I realised how much we're missing by not teaching young people how money truly works, right from the start."