Financial literacy in Malaysia is often shaped by adults, curricula, and textbooks. Yet a growing movement is showing that young people can lead meaningful financial learning when given the space and tools to try. Fund for Life is part of this shift, encouraging students to explore money concepts through lived experiences and the communities they understand best.

A Nationwide Movement Powered By Youth

More than 123,000 students across Malaysia have taken part in Fund for Life activities. These include budgeting carnivals, schoolwide savings challenges, and student-led projects designed to help classmates understand essential money skills. The programme recognises that students learn most effectively when they have ownership over their ideas and the opportunity to turn them into real initiatives.

The backdrop to their work is a financial landscape that affects many Malaysian households. According to the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey 2025 (RMFLS 2025), 55% of Malaysian adults spend exactly or more than what they earn, and 54% feel anxious, frustrated, or embarrassed about their financial situation. Early financial exposure helps young people build awareness and confidence before they face similar pressures in adulthood.

Each project begins with a RM500 micro-grant that enables students to design activities suited to the needs of their own school communities. Through these initiatives, concepts such as saving, spending, and financial protection are introduced in ways that feel meaningful and relevant to their peers.

A Student Council Leading The Way

From the many student-led initiatives nationwide, 100 students were selected to form the inaugural Fund for Life Student Council. Their mission is to guide peers through financial topics in a peer-driven environment that feels accessible and encouraging.

At the Fund for Life 2025 Summit in Kuala Lumpur, council members facilitated workshops, led simulations, and introduced tools for budgeting and saving. They took on responsibilities as facilitators and youth leaders, demonstrating how effectively students can shape financial learning experiences for one another.

RMFLS 2025 shows that many Malaysian adults are still uncertain about foundational financial concepts. Among those who have not begun planning for retirement, 40% say they do not know where to start, and 47% do not fully understand what a credit score means. Student-led learning provides a structured environment for young people to become familiar with these topics early, helping to reduce uncertainty later in life.

Making Financial Learning Engaging, Relevant, And Real

Financial education can feel abstract when delivered only through theory. Fund for Life addresses this by using activities and examples that mirror everyday financial choices. This approach helps students understand how money decisions unfold in real contexts.

RMFLS 2025 reports that 39% of adults believe they could sustain themselves for three months or less if they lost their job, and 55% live paycheck to paycheck. Learning skills such as tracking expenses and preparing for unexpected situations strengthens students’ understanding of how financial decisions influence everyday life.

By grounding lessons in lived experiences, Fund for Life demonstrates that financial literacy is not just theory but a practical skill that students can carry forward.

Strengthening Malaysia’s Financial Future

Fund for Life supports Malaysia’s wider financial literacy agenda under Bank Negara Malaysia, the Ministry of Education, and the Financial Education Network. Its focus on early and practical learning helps prepare young Malaysians for the responsibilities they will encounter as adults.

Since 2019, the programme has been co-supported by FWD Takaful and Arus Academy. Together, they aim to nurture a generation that understands money, makes informed choices, and contributes to stronger financial awareness within their communities.

A Generation Preparing For Tomorrow

Fund for Life gives students the opportunity to learn collaboratively and support one another through financial topics that might otherwise feel intimidating. They organise activities, facilitate discussions, and build spaces that encourage shared understanding.

As more students participate, the initiative grows in momentum and impact. The learning becomes collective, and confidence spreads from one student to another. It becomes a shared effort that strengthens financial awareness within schools and extends into families and communities.

Students are not only learning how money works. They are developing the ability to guide others, contribute to problem solving, and understand financial decisions that influence daily life. Their work highlights how financial understanding can grow when students take an active role in the learning process.

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