Leading life insurer Pru Life UK, in partnership with Prudence Foundation and Junior Achievement Philippines, ushered in a cheerful Christmas season with Cha-Ching Kid$ at Home: Money-Smart and Meaningful Holidays for Filipino Families. The expert-led and fun-filled webinar was attended by about 500 parents and their children.

The virtual event, which was hosted by Pru Life UK Assistant Manager for Investments Marketing Mary Jane Pangan, featured family and finance experts Rose Fres Fausto and Edric Mendoza, who shared how families can create a purposeful Christmas. Kids joined fun holiday-themed games that taught them basic money management concepts.

“While this Christmas season comes amid unprecedented times, the joyous spirit of the holidays remains and thrives. We hope that by extending the Cha-Ching money management values to families at this time of the year we will be able to help them have a more money-smart and meaningful celebration,” says Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga.

Expert-led talks on a purposeful Christmas

Fausto is an investment banker turned author, columnist, and speaker on purposeful parenting. She also runs FQ Mom, a blog and YouTube channel that focuses on money and family. She led the talk Holidays on a Budget: How to Have a Merrier Christmas by Spending Less and shared her “Christmas FQripot Tips” with the audience. These include cutting back on gifts, clothes, and decor expenses despite seeing big discounts and sales. “When you shop at sale events, be sure to know the actual price of the item, and keep in mind that you should only buy what you need and not because it is cheap,” said Fausto.

She was joined by Mendoza, an entrepreneur, family advocate, and former lead anchor of ANC’s On the Money. He is also the chairman of Homeschool Global Learning Inc. and president of The Parentschooling Co. At the virtual event, he shared his insights on the values of charity in Meaningful Holidays: Ways You Can Give Back to Your Community, where his three kids made a special appearance and talked about buying gifts for the family with a budget. Mendoza also encouraged parents to teach their kids about charity at their young age. “For children to embrace the value of giving, we must provide them the opportunity to experience the joy of it. That way it would be easier for them to practice giving back to the community as they grow up,” he said.

During the games, kids tested their money management skills in Kris Kringle Quiz, where they had to choose the best gift that fits a given category and budget. In Matching Gifts, kids had to memorize the names of children and their corresponding Christmas wishes. They then had to match a donation to the kid who wished for it. A total of six participants won a P500 gift card and a set of Cha-Ching comic books, while one lucky attendee won a brand-new tablet and a Christmas gift basket perfect for Noche Buena.

The virtual event was in line with Pru Life UK’s We DO Education commitment to promote financial literacy in the Philippines. Beyond the webinar, Cha-Ching Kid$ at Home offers a set of printable resources that parents can use to teach their children basic money management concepts like Earn, Save, Spend, and Donate. The modules were created by Pru Life UK and Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudence plc.

“While Christmas can be an extravagant celebration, many of us are feeling the blow of the pandemic. We hope Cha-Ching Kid$ at Home provides people with helpful and useful money management tips, especially on saving and donating. Then hopefully everyone can still feel and share in the Christmas spirit even though traditional festivities may be disrupted,” shares Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation.

Download the Cha-Ching Kid$ at Home modules and give your kids the gift of financial wisdom this Christmas. Access them on chaching.cartoonnetworkasia.com/en/. For more information, visit the Pru Life UK website at prulifeuk.com.ph or the Facebook page at facebook.com/prulifeukofficial.