Financial education lessons made easy
New Zealand’s best financial education program for school students
MoneyTime is a web-based, self-taught financial literacy program that makes teaching financial education easy.
Set up is remarkably simple and takes less than 2 minutes – no webinars required! There is no prep time for lessons; tests and quizzes are automatically marked. It couldn’t be easier for you!
Join the 750+ New Zealand primary, intermediate and secondary schools that have already used MoneyTime!
3,000+
teachers
110,000+
learners
750+
schools
MoneyTime’s financial education lessons
MoneyTime consists of 11 core financial literacy lessons and 20 extension lessons, all of which imitate real life experiences – from wages, savings and tax to mortgages, buying real estate and simple investing.
Earning, saving and interest
Employment and tax
Budgeting and payment methods
Borrowing and credit
Purchasing property
Investing
Business basics
Insurance, Warranties and online safety
See how MoneyTime’s financial literacy program works for teachers
See why teachers enjoy using MoneyTime’s financial education lessons with their students.
Why choose MoneyTime’s financial education lessons?
No teacher knowledge required
You don’t have to be financially trained or have a strong working knowledge of money - MoneyTime does the teaching for you!
Students work through the self-directed lessons on their own.
Then we provide you with practical activities to spark conversation and expand on what has been taught in the program.
Regular assessments
MoneyTime has automatically graded quizzes and tests to assess student progress after each lesson. Easy-to-follow reporting functions provide detailed feedback on student results.
The regular testing within the program shows an average knowledge increase of 42% across the 100,000+ students who have used the program!
Hands on learning
The financial literacy lessons are combined with a fun money management game which maximizes students’ engagement and enjoyment.
They earn virtual money for correct answers, which they can spend in-game by purchasing, saving, investing or donating.
These decisions simulate real life decisions & help students understand the impact of their choices. They learn from trial & error without risk or fear of failure.
Built-in parent engagement
In addition to the core and extension classroom lessons, there are 13 lessons for students to complete with their parent or guardian. These are optional but highly recommended as they enable students to put their learning into their own life’s context.
Parents love that their child is learning how to be smart with money, and are often surprised at their child’s level of understanding of the personal finance topics gained from the MoneyTime program.
MoneyTime in the New Zealand Curriculum
MoneyTime is 100% aligned with Financial Education strand of the refreshed Social Sciences curriculum years 6-10 (2027).
MoneyTime also supports the Financial Mathematics strand of the revised Maths curriculum years 6-10 (2026)
The content is scaffolded, meaning most lessons build on previous content.
The program is best utilised as a block/ unit of enquiry (2-3 times per week) to get the benefit of continuity.
Implementing MoneyTime with your students
Quick and easy to implement
Getting started takes just 2 minutes. There is no training required or lesson preparation to do.
It’s just as quick for your students. They can start as soon as they have created their account and joined your class with a class code.
Each financial literacy lesson only takes thirty minutes - meaning plenty of flexibility. They can be scheduled into your weekly timetable, used as extension activities, set for homework and are an easy filler for relief teachers. If you can’t finish them as a block, use them as end of year fun!
Easy to fit in
Practical lesson guides
MoneyTime is designed to be self-directed however for hands-on teachers we also provide lesson guides that include intended outcomes, new vocabulary, teaching tips and activities and discussions for you to do with your students after each lesson. These are excellent for encouraging feedback, questions and reinforcement.
Fitting MoneyTime into your timetable
Completing just the core lessons (1-11) will be immense benefit to your students. However if you’d like them to complete all 30 lessons, here are some ways that teachers fit them in:
Split modules by year group e.g. Year 6: Modules 1–11, Year 7: Modules 12–22, Year 8: Modules 23–31
Set MoneyTime for a group of students to self-direct whilst you take another learning group
Offer students access during the lunch break or as an after-school activity
Assign modules for homework
ST4S Assessed
The MoneyTime financial education program has been assessed by Safer Technologies 4 Schools under framework version 2024.1 and has successfully qualified to be part of the ST4S Product Badge Program.
This means New Zealand teachers can be confident that their students data and privacy are well protected.
Pricing
MoneyTime is valued at $6 per pupil per year but is 100% free for all NZ primary schools thanks to our generous sponsors.
Pricing for secondary schools is $6 per pupil per school year.
New Zealand Interclass Financial Literacy Competition
In MoneyTime, classes from all over New Zealand compete for the title of Best Financial Literacy Class and up to $3,000 in prize money from the Milford Foundation for their school.
Scores for participating classes are based on students’ module quiz scores and the percentage of students completing the program in their class.
The competition runs each year from January to December. If you are using MoneyTime for your financial education lessons, they are automatically included in the competition!
Student test results show a 42% average increase in knowledge across all lessons - MoneyTime really works!
MoneyTime New Zealand case study
At Te Awamutu Intermediate, teacher Jaime Johanson has been using MoneyTime for four years as a flexible part of her maths programme, fitting it around an ever‑changing school day.
Students work through modules at their own pace, dipping in & out between other activities, while Jaime supports understanding & sparks discussion when needed.
Read how MoneyTime works in her vibrant, busy classroom.
MoneyTime in Te Reo Māori
At MoneyTime we believe it’s important that reo Māori speakers have the opportunity to learn financial literacy in te reo Māori so they can understand what they are learning from a Māori viewpoint.
If they can have financial conversations in te reo Māori it normalises the concepts the program teaches. Having MoneyTime available in Māori means all Māori medium students can utilize the program.
Hear from New Zealand teachers using MoneyTime
Charlotte Gardiner from Casebrook Intermediate explains why she uses MoneyTime for her financial literacy lessons.
How St Margarets College use MoneyTime for financial literacy lessons.
What New Zealand teachers are saying
“The developers of this program clearly have a great sense of humour and a great understanding of children in this age group. They have made the subject both fun and engaging, with humour and incentives which hook the learners from their first module. My class loves it and asks every day if today is a MoneyTime day! Their parents are loving that they are being introduced to complex concepts about managing finances from a young age. I highly recommend it.”
— Ann Smales, Teacher, Broadbay School, Otago
“My class are loving the program and are begging me to unlock the next module. They are telling me their parents are just as excited as them about the program and are working through it with them at night. This is a fantastic way to get whanau talking. I think it is one of the best programs I have used as far as student engagement goes and it’s great to see they are transferring their learning back into the classroom program.”
— Julie Burrows, Academic Coordinator for Year 7 & 8,
St Peter's College, Gore
“The kids are totally into it and very highly motivated. From a VERY low baseline of knowledge, they’re now bandying words like mortgage and interest and investment like old hands. Best of all, they’re seeing in a very graphic and understandable way how money works and how it grows. Thanks so much for giving us the opportunity to use this excellent program.”
— David Mackenzie, Year 8 Teacher, Dilworth Junior Campus, Auckland
“Thanks so much, my students are loving this program. We had parent/teacher conferences last week and a number of parents said that it has resulted in a conversations about 'money'. It is great to see this happening.”
— Shane Lavery, teacher, Evans Bay Intermediate School, Wellington
“The class was super excited to be doing this, they loved it today, even the ones who did it last year were excited. It’s so nice when they are all this enthusiastic about their learning.”
— Lisa Ashton, teacher, St Pauls School, Ngaruwahia
What New Zealand students are saying
“MoneyTime is really helping me with understanding the banking system. At home, I now have large conversations with my family about things that I have picked up from modules. MoneyTime is designed in a way that teaches you life skills, and still allows you to be a kid, and compete with your classmates for the most money. I feel like it is really improving my math, and I really hope we can do it again next year.”
— Isabella, Year 7, Tokomaru School
“Thanks to MoneyTime, I’ll know how to use money, banks & more for when I’m older. MoneyTime has been a very fun morning activity & I always look forward to it. There are a lot of jobs that you can choose from, the quizzes give you a good sum of money, I learned a lot about money and life in the future & you get to choose cool accessories for your character.”
— Amelia, Manukau Intermediate
“With a competition that spans over terms 1 to 4, it was a perfect addition to our classroom’s financial literacy project. Its 31 modules, each filled with valuable information and views make the learning fun and engaging. The strategic aspect of knowing how to invest your money and how much to invest is highly relatable. I enjoyed MoneyTime and strongly believe that it should be implemented in all schools across New Zealand, due to its engaging learning and competitive aspect.”
— Seth H, Year 8, Head Boy, Peachgrove Intermediate School, MoneyTime Interclass Competition 2024 winners
MoneyTime is provided free of charge into New Zealand primary schools through the generosity of our sponsors:
International financial literacy awards
