1st
Is teaching personal finance education in schools a waste of time?
… Some things are too important to be left to chance. Financial education is one.
It’s clear from the difficulties that so many people are experiencing that we can’t rely on families to teach children how to manage money, as many of them do not know how to do it themselves. This is not to blame individuals who are victims of the global recession, finding themselves unemployed or in negative equity. Nor does it excuse the irresponsible lending from some of the financial institutions.
We are failing our young people if we do not invest in their future. When they leave school they will have to make complex decisions that will have long-term consequences. If they go to university, will the course they follow lead to high-paid employment, or will they spend the next 10 years worrying about repaying their debts? If they go to work, will they be able to afford to move into accommodation of their own, or will they continue to exploit their long-suffering parents? Can they afford to have a family?
Research we conducted last year showed that more than three-quarters of seven- to 11-year-olds saved - with one in 10 saving for a car, house or university. But by the time they became teenagers, more than half were in debt to friends or families. What happens to these sensible children as they get older? Opportunity, peer pressure and media influences all contribute…
