The younger people are when they learn about financial literacy, the longer they have to enjoy the benefits. “Although the MAIAs aim to promote financial literacy for all, the best time to start learning is when people are still in school,”

MAIA co-founder Michael Gilmore explained. “But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
12-year-old Rishi Vamdatt might disagree. He won the MAIA for the Best Financial Influencer in 2022 for his creation, Easy Peasy Finance, which educates his young audience about money.

When he was just eight years old, Rishi Vamdatt noticed that the K-12 education system lacked adequate financial literacy lessons. So he started creating weekly YouTube videos that teach kids financial concepts and terminology.

Vamdatt says, “I think kids today must learn about finance as soon as possible, and I noticed the resources just weren’t available. To rectify that, I created Easy Peasy Finance and started to release videos that break down complex financial concepts in a way that even kids and beginners can easily comprehend.”

The videos proved a popular resource, and the programme soon expanded beyond the YouTube channel.

“The channel took off, and I still release weekly videos,” Vamdatt explains. “There are currently over 250 personal finance videos that span various topics such as investing, banking, credit cards, taxes, insurance, borrowing, and retirement. However, I soon realised I needed to broaden the resources I provided to other platforms and media.”

This led to a kid-friendly website with fun, animated videos, quizzes, infographics, calculators, a glossary of terms, and more. In addition, Vamdatt has released a couple of books – Easy Peasy Money and Easy Peasy Investing.

“The other channels provide a way to get these important messages across to a broader audience. The information on the website, for example, has tools, courses, and recommendations. There is also a breakdown of knowledge relating to various financial categories and general tips. We are constantly adding new material,” Vamdatt says.

“With the books, I could get more in-depth and provide a resource that people of all ages can refer to and learn from. For example, Easy Peasy Money covers general topics like earning, spending, saving, investing, borrowing, and budgeting. Whereas Easy Peasy Investing delves into more complicated subjects like compounding, risk-return, liquidity, asset classes, diversification, asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing.”

The media-spanning information has won multiple awards and isn’t purely for children. Parents and educators can also use the resources to coach young minds about personal finance while keeping them engaged.

“Children and beginners are fully capable of understanding financial topics if the information is presented in an engaging and simplified way,” Vamdatt said.

“We also offer free, tailored courses aligned with K-12 National Standards for Personal Finance Education, enabling structured learning.”

Looking to the future, Vamdatt has big plans. “We aim to create a video encyclopaedia for personal finance and become the go-to resource for all kids, parents, and teachers worldwide. We also plan to publish an array of illustrated, kid-friendly books on diverse topics like banking, credit cards, stocks, taxes, and much more.

“Easy Peasy Finance’s mission is to give children a basic understanding of money and finance so they can become well-rounded and fiscally secure adults,” Vamdatt adds.

Michael Gilmore, the MAIA co-founder, said, “What Rishi Vamdatt has achieved at such a young age is amazing. It shows that basic investments and sound fiscal management can be learned at a very young age and provide benefits for life. It is great that such young talents can find us and share what they are doing.”

If you want to know more, visit the Easy Peasy Finance website or email us at michael@www.maiawards.org.