As the cost of higher education, housing and living expenses remain high, teens are becoming more switched on the importance of finances and are eager to learn more about managing their money in school.
However, access to financial education can vary, leading many teens to rely on their families to learn about money. In fact, 87% of teens – which is equal to more than 2.9 million young people in the UK – talk about money with their families.
Teens are actively engaging in money talks at home, with the hot topics of conversation around the dinner table being saving for their future (59%), budgeting (49%), and the costs of bills (47%).
A survey of 1,000 young people aged 14-17, conducted by financial mutual OneFamily, found over half (55%) of teenagers think they should start learning about money in primary school.
Teens are witnessing firsthand the challenges their families face in balancing budgets and making ends meet, which has sparked an interest in understanding finances. As a result, most teenagers say that saving (70%) and budgeting (63%) should be prioritised as school lessons.
As part of the research by OneFamily, 2,000 UK adults aged 18-50 were asked a similar set of questions. Eight in ten (81%) agree that financial education should be introduced earlier than it currently is, with the average suggested starting age being as young as 10 years old.
RedSTART, the UK-based financial education charity, is looking to address this through its Change the Game programme, with a multi-year study into the impact of early financial education. Its aim is to develop an evidence base and a blueprint for the Government on how to embed it across the primary school curriculum.
“Incorporating financial education into the school curriculum at all levels, which teenagers are calling for, could be transformational for the next generation.”
Sarah Marks, Chief Executive of RedSTART said, “Through our Change the Game programme, we’re also seeing that children of all ages – even those as young as four – are interested in learning about money and understanding how to manage it, as well as thinking about the concepts of saving and how that can help them in the future.
“In the current economic environment, we believe the need for fit-for-purpose financial education has never been more vital, and we hope that the findings from our study will help make this a reality for every primary-aged child in the future.”
