About Marshmallow Money Australia

At Marshmallow Money, we believe money lessons should start early, and they should be practical, honest, and empowering.

Children grow up surrounded by money decisions every day. They see adults tap cards, shop online, talk about bills, save for holidays, and make choices about needs and wants. Yet many young people reach adulthood without ever being taught how money really works.

Marshmallow Money was created to change that.

Founded by Tracey West, Marshmallow Money combines real-world financial education with research-backed learning design. Drawing on years of experience in finance, education, and consumer wellbeing, our resources are designed to help young people build the knowledge, habits, and confidence they need to make informed money decisions.

Our books and learning resources go beyond simple budgeting tips. We explore the systems that shape financial life (saving, spending, taxes, investing, superannuation, debt, risk, scams, and long-term planning) through age-appropriate explanations, engaging activities, and meaningful conversations.

The name Marshmallow Money is inspired by one of the most famous experiments in behavioural science: the marshmallow test. At its heart is a simple but powerful idea; learning to pause, plan ahead, and think about future rewards. These are the same skills that support financial wellbeing throughout life.

At Marshmallow Money, our mission is simple: To help young people build money confidence.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, school, or curious learner, we’re here to make financial education more accessible, evidence-based, and engaging for the next generation.

About Tracey West PhD

Tracey West is the founder of Marshmallow Money, an Australian financial education initiative designed to help young people build the knowledge, confidence, and habits they need to make smart money decisions.

Her career has been shaped by one big question: How can we help people feel more confident with money?

Over the past two decades, she has worked across finance, education, consumer advocacy, and financial wellbeing, helping people better understand money, navigate financial systems, and make informed decisions about their future. Her work has included developing financial education programs, researching financial capability, and collaborating with educators, policymakers, community organisations, and industry leaders to improve access to quality financial education.

She holds a PhD in finance and have spent years exploring how people learn about money, what shapes financial behaviour, and why early education matters. Her research and professional experience continue to influence every Marshmallow Money resource, combining evidence-based learning with practical, real-world examples that young people can relate to.

Marshmallow Money grew from a simple belief: financial education should be accessible, engaging, and start early. She created this series to help teens and families talk about money with confidence, curiosity, and purpose.

When she's not writing or designing learning resources, she is often exploring new research, speaking with educators, or finding better ways to make complex money topics easier to understand.

Feel free to connect on LinkedIn and view her research. Thank you for being part of the Marshmallow Money journey.

Research & Evidence

Australia has recognised the importance of financial literacy for more than a decade through national policy, regulatory leadership, and cross-sector collaboration.

In 2011, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched Australia’s first National Financial Literacy Strategy, helping establish financial literacy as a shared responsibility across government, schools, community organisations, researchers, and industry. The strategy focused on building knowledge, improving access to trusted information, encouraging behavioural change, and supporting partnerships across sectors.

Over time, Australia’s policy language evolved from financial literacy toward financial capability; recognising that knowledge alone is not enough. Financial capability includes confidence, motivation, access to support, and the ability to apply financial knowledge in real-world situations.

This shift was reflected in Australia’s National Financial Capability Strategy, which broadened the national conversation from understanding money to supporting financial resilience, inclusion, and wellbeing across different life stages.

However, Australia’s national financial capability agenda is currently relatively dormant. While many organisations continue important work in financial education, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and wellbeing, there is currently no highly visible national implementation framework, refreshed action plan, or coordinated public roadmap driving the next phase of capability-building at a national level.

See Australia’s Strategies here:

At the same time, other countries are actively renewing or launching national strategies.

For example, Ireland launched its first national financial literacy strategy in 2025, built around multi-stakeholder governance, annual action plans, stronger school engagement, and targeted support for vulnerable populations. Importantly, Ireland’s policy review found that financial education should begin earlier in childhood, with stronger curriculum integration across the school years.

Likewise, New Zealand updated their Strategy in 2025, and continues to embed financial capability within early education, community learning, and life-stage transitions, recognising that financial decisions begin long before adulthood.

These newer strategies often share common features:

  • Earlier introduction of financial education in school curricula
  • Greater focus on vulnerable and under-served populations
  • Stronger links between financial literacy, digital literacy, and scam prevention
  • Increased attention to behavioural insights and real-world decision-making
  • Integration with financial inclusion, consumer protection, and wellbeing policies
  • Annual action plans, measurement frameworks, and public accountability mechanisms

Much of this global policy development is supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and its International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE), which provide governments with policy recommendations, implementation guidance, international benchmarks, and technical support for developing national financial literacy strategies.

In some countries, policy attention is now moving beyond strategy development toward curriculum implementation at scale. In the United States, for example, policy momentum has increasingly shifted from voluntary school curriculum guidance toward mandatory personal finance education. According to NGPF’s 2026 State of Financial Education Report, 30 U.S. states now require students to complete a standalone Personal Finance course before graduation, compared with just eight states in 2020. Once recently adopted policies are fully implemented, more than three-quarters of U.S. public high school students in the graduating class of 2031 are expected to complete a dedicated personal finance course.

Together, these developments suggest that internationally, financial education policy is increasingly moving beyond awareness and advocacy toward earlier intervention, stronger implementation, and measurable system-level accountability, raising important questions about Australia’s next chapter in financial capability policy.

For Parents

Money conversations don’t have to be complicated, and they don’t have to wait until children are older.

At Marshmallow Money, we believe some of the most important money lessons begin at home. Everyday moments (shopping for groceries, saving for something special, comparing prices, planning for a family holiday, or talking about needs and wants) can become powerful learning opportunities.

Our resources are designed to help parents build money confidence in children through practical conversations, real-life examples, and age-appropriate activities. 

Whether your child is learning how to save their first pocket money, understand where tax goes, or explore how investing works, Marshmallow Money makes complex topics easier to understand.

Because financial education isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about creating opportunities and the confidence to ask questions.

Parents often ask:

  • When should I start teaching my child about money?
  • How much pocket money is appropriate?
  • How do I teach saving without making money feel stressful?
  • How can I prepare my child for a digital money world?
  • How do I talk about scams, advertising, and online spending?

Marshmallow Money is creating resources to help support those conversations. 

For Educators

Financial education helps students connect classroom learning with real-world decision-making.

Marshmallow Money resources are designed to support teachers who want to introduce practical money concepts in engaging, age-appropriate ways. Whether students are exploring saving, budgeting, taxation, consumer decisions, investing, superannuation, or financial risk, our resources help make money concepts relevant, practical, and meaningful.

Our resources help students develop:

  •          Financial literacy and consumer awareness
  •          Financial mathematics skills, including percentages, interest calculations, budgeting, comparison shopping, unit pricing, compound growth, and interpreting financial data
  •          Understanding of economic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity cost, trade-offs, incentives, markets, inflation, taxation, productivity, and long-term planning
  •          Critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and evidence-based decision-making
  •          Confidence in applying financial knowledge to everyday life situations

Marshmallow Money also supports opportunities for cross-curricular learning, helping students connect financial concepts with broader social, cultural, and global issues.

Learning experiences may include:

  •          Sustainability, including responsible consumption, resource allocation, intergenerational planning, and understanding long-term economic choices
  •          Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, including traditional trade systems, resource stewardship, community decision-making, and long-term planning practices
  •          Australia’s engagement with Asia and the Pacific, including trade relationships, tourism, exchange rates, cultural perspectives on money, and regional economic connections

Whether used in primary, middle, or secondary settings, Marshmallow Money encourages students to connect money decisions with mathematics, economics, citizenship, culture, and future wellbeing.

Designed for:

  • Classroom teaching
  • Small group learning and intervention support
  • Independent investigations and inquiry projects
  • Homework and family discussion activities
  • Cross-curricular projects and integrated learning experiences
  • Student wellbeing, life skills, and pastoral care programs
  • Career education, employability skills, and post-school readiness programs
  • Homeschool programs

Read more about how consumer and financial literacy is integrated across the Australian Curriculum in this guide created by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

 

A structured learning pathway

Marshmallow Money resources are designed as a developmental learning journey, helping students build financial understanding in age-appropriate stages.

v  Financial Foundations

Students are introduced to core money concepts such as needs and wants, goal setting, saving, spending, delayed gratification, consumer choices, budgeting, taxation, and basic financial decision-making. At this level, the focus is on building confidence, curiosity, and positive money habits.

v  Financial Empowerment

Students begin exploring more complex financial systems, including the financial system, investing, superannuation, risk and insurance, scams, economic decision-making, and understanding how personal choices can influence long-term financial wellbeing. At this stage, learners are encouraged to think critically, ask questions, and connect money decisions with real-life situations.

v  Financial Independence

Students engage with applied financial decision-making such as buying a car, buying a property, starting work and paying bills. This level helps young people prepare for adult financial responsibilities and future decision-making.

Together, these three levels create a structured pathway that supports financial learning from early childhood through adolescence and into young adulthood. 

Designed for safe, inclusive conversations

Talking about money at home or in the classroom can sometimes feel too personal. Educators may not want to share their own financial experiences, discuss family circumstances, or draw on sensitive real-life examples.

That’s why Marshmallow Money uses recurring characters, relatable scenarios, and case studies to bring financial concepts to life.

By using stories instead of personal disclosure, educators can facilitate meaningful discussions about money, values, choices, and consequences, while maintaining professional boundaries and creating a safe, inclusive learning environment for all students.

Characters and case studies also help students explore diverse perspectives, recognise that families manage money in different ways, and practise decision-making without judgement or embarrassment.