Table A1.

Financial Education text messages designed by MFO

No.	Financial Education SMS Message	Rationale
1	Every peso counts. Even if you save a small amount each day, it adds up at the end of the month. You can save more than you think! Banco Caja Social	The first message about saving should be encouraging to everyone, including those who can only save a small amount. The message also conveys that the regularity of saving is also crucial.
2	List your expenses as needs or wants. Food is a need, but candy is a want. Cut some of the wants to reach your goal. Banco Caja Social	Kids can reduce spending on unnecessary expenses or “wants”, e.g. jewelry, fashionable clothing, internet, alcohol, activities with friends.
3	Resist pressure to spend. Your friends may buy things now, but you’re saving for more later! When tempted, picture your savings goal in your mind. Banco Caja Social	Kids may feel pressure to spend to maintain their image among their peers, e.g. spend on beauty accessories and the latest fashionable clothes. Kids may also feel pressure to spend while out with their friends.
4	Start a savings trend. Your friends need to save too, even if they don’t admit it! Think of free activities you can do together so you all can save money. Banco Caja Social	Saving is easier when your friends are doing it too. Kids spend money when doing activities with their friends.
5	Find out where your money goes. Track how much you spend on everything for 1 week by writing it down each day. See where you can cut your spending. Banco Caja Social	It is easy to lose track of where we spend all our money. By suggesting to youth to track all their expenses for one week, they can better identify how they are spending their money and decide where they can reduce or eliminate unnecessary expenditures.
6	Spend less than you receive. Calculate how much money you receive in 1 week. If you spend more than you take in, cut your spending and save instead. Banco Caja Social	Identifying the amount of their income can help ensure youth do not spend more than they take in, which is another component of budgeting.
7	Stay one step ahead. Plan how much you’ll spend this week and stick to your limit. You can do it! Banco Caja Social	Encourage youth to be pro-active in managing their money by planning ahead and setting limits to spending before they start spending.
8	You are first. When you receive money, deposit some in your account for your goal first before you start spending. That way it’s easy to save. Banco Caja Social	Encourage a savings habit among youth by making saving the first step before starting to spend on other things.
9	Be street-smart. Keeping all your money at home is like putting all your eggs in 1 basket. Protect your savings by moving the money for your savings goal into the bank. Banco Caja Social	One of the benefits of saving that youth identified in the market research was safety. Encourage youth to move the money they are saving at home for their savings goals into the bank.
10	You are the boss. By opening your account and following a savings plan, you’re in control of your money. Keep saving and you’ll achieve your goal! Banco Caja Social	Leverage the positive feelings of independence and pride youth are likely to feel with having their own savings account and being control of their own money in order to encourage them to continue saving.
11	Think ahead. What things can help or hurt as you try to meet your savings goal? Make the right choices to achieve your goal safely and responsibly. Banco Caja Social	Sometimes low-income youth may resort to risky behaviors or illegal means to obtain money to save, as the market research indicates. This message echoes a similar message from Save the Children’s financial education curriculum.
12	Make savings a habit. Don’t stop saving after you reach one goal. Achieving one goal will help lead you to new goals. Our dreams are endless. Good luck! Banco Caja Social	Kids tend to save only when they have a specific short term goal that they want to achieve. After that specific goal is reached, they stop saving. Encourage youth to continue to save as a habit, not as a short-term measure.