Co-ordinated Financial Education Needed

A survey of over 2000 young adults conducted by YouGov, has revealed that more than a third of them have debts in excess of £3000, and experience “significant concerns about money”.

The survey was commissioned by the Money Advice Trust, who run a National Debtline, which is increasingly dealing with the serious problems of debt being faced by a growing number of young adults.

The survey showed that these debts arise mainly from borrowings in the form of credit cards, bank overdrafts and family and friends. The real problem the National Debtline has highlighted is that too many young adults fail to take action to deal with their debts, until they reach a crisis point and then get in touch with National Debtline, by which time the problems they face are often too severe to be solved by good advice alone.

The report suggests a number of things that need to happen quickly if this problem is to be effectively tackled.

The primary action the report recommends is that every school in the country must plan and implement “earlier and more co-ordinated financial education”, something that we have been advocating and delivering for the last five years.

The solution is well understood, but the issue has always been about what that educational programme should cover in order to profoundly and beneficially influence the life choices of young adults, so that they are equipped to manage their finances and build independent and solvent lives.

We are about to launch a new and improved version of “Keep the Cash!” which will be available to every school in the country, and is the one proven teaching programme that can alter personal choices and improve lives.

As Edexcel said:

Keep the Cash! is inspirational, aspirational and future-proof.

If we are to avoid the kind of calamity that the Money Advice Trust report highlights Keep the Cash! can play an essential role in producing a generation of young adults who are literate about their personal finance, and are well equipped to understand and avoid the perils of debt.