Deborah Meaden tells Graham Norton about her new children's book Why Money Matters

Virgin Radio

16 Jul 2023, 15:20

Deborah Meaden joined The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to talk about her latest book and the staggeringly young age at which we develop our money habits.

British businesswoman Deborah Meaden has just published a new book to educate children on the history of money, how to spend and save, taxation, and the role of banks.

Why Money Matters is part of the Little Experts series, for which celebrities such as James May and Dr. Ronx, have written books to teach kids about their specialist subjects. 

Meaden told Graham Norton that she wrote the book for six to nine-year-olds after she was “amazed to discover" that we form our money habits by the age of six.

The Dragons’ Den judge explained: “It doesn't mean you know everything about money, but it just means you're going to be a spender, or a saver, or a saver spender.

“I thought, you know what, this is pretty important to get in there early.

“The biggest influence that children of that age pick up is definitely from their parents,” Meaden added. "I'm rather hoping that when the parents read the book to the children, they start forming their own money habits.”

The 64-year-old also spoke to Norton about the dangers of not using physical money when teaching kids about spending.

She said: “It's much easier to teach children the value of money when they can see it, you know, I've got this much money, I've spent it, I've got no more money. 

“But of course, it's all invisible now. It's not even on credit cards, it's on their phones. 

“The book talks about money in terms of numbers, so the more you have, the more the numbers go up in your account, and the more you spend, the more they go down.

“It's trying to get that concept of, although it's hidden money, it's no different to the coins that you have in your pocket,” Meaden continued. “Because in their lifetime, there probably aren't going to be coins, so we've got to teach them now, the value of what I call hidden money.”

Speaking about why she wrote the book, the businesswoman stated: “Money can do amazing things, money can build you the best life, [but] money can also do awful things.

“It’s really important that people understand it's a tool for good, it can change the planet, and it can help other people if you use it well.

“But on the contrary, if you use it badly, then it can spoil an awful lot of things.”

Why Money Matters is available to buy in bookshops now.

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