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According to a MoneySense research report last year, 91% of British adults have never been taught how to manage their money. This startling figure casts some light on how so many people have been left exposed by bad financial choices in the recent credit crunch and ongoing recession. My foundation recently did some work with MyBnk – an educational charity which has worked with over 15,000 young people across London and the South East building knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their money more effectively. We conducted qualitative research in Brighton and Hove designed to examine the nature of young people's relationship with money. This highlighted a number of issues, one of the most powerful being the impact financial knowledge had on the participant's educational choices. Many of the older participants explicitly stated that if they had possessed the skills necessary to manage their personal finances earlier, it would have encouraged them to aspire to greater educational goals, including university. One participant said: ‘If I had known earlier, I would have started saving when I was in Year 9 (aged 13).' Yet none of the participants in the research had received any specific personal money management guidance or training. Rather, their experiences of learning about money in school had primarily been channelled through a business lens. Some also directly associated financial capability with mathematics with one participant announcing: ‘I was bad at maths, so I am bad with money.' Moreover many other participants mentioned their views on banks were coloured by previous bad experiences due to not reading or understanding the terms, and so some now do not have bank accounts. These young people are in danger of completely disengaging themselves from the financial system rather than being taught how to make the most of their money. The Government needs to be careful to channel all its energy into catering for the most exposed and hard to reach groups, such as young parents, carers and NEETs who will not necessarily be reached by the National Curriculum. To me, this highlights yet again the fundamental and over riding importance of numeracy and literacy skills in all walks of life. Rod Aldridge is chairman of the Aldridge Foundation

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FINANCE

Plugged In - It all adds up... or does it?

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