Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of UK adults did not receive any education on money during their time at school, despite just shy of the same proportion (68 per cent) believing they would have benefited from it.
New data from research by credit app, ClearScore, conducted in partnership with UK-based The Money Charity reveals that a lack of financial education during school years has hurt people’s financial decision-making later in life. Overall, 14 per cent of adults surveyed said that their ability to manage household finances, and their ability to look after their family, has been affected.
Despite financial education being added to the curriculum in 2014, the research found that 58 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds claim they never received any education on money at school, suggesting that more needs to be done to equip schools and teachers to deliver this effectively.
Thirteen per cent of adults believe their lack of financial literacy has also affected their ability to borrow money. This is particularly concerning as paying off debts is the biggest source of financial stress for 29 per cent of respondents, equivalent to 10.87 million adults.
Michelle Highman, CEO of The Money Charity
Michelle Highman, chief executive of The Money Charity, commented: “A lack of financial education should not hold anyone in society back, which is why we work with schools, community groups and employers to help fill the void left by the curriculum.
“We deliver interactive and engaging financial education and well-being workshops to people of all ages across the UK. Our vision is that everyone achieves financial well-being by managing their money well, and ultimately lead happier and more positive lives as a result.”
The lack of confidence extends to 11 per cent who are either not confident, or often feel uncertain, about managing their money. Not only does this impact their own confidence, but also has a generational knock-on impact, with 13 per cent of adults saying they would not feel confident offering support to children on money matters.
Where are people going for financial advice?
Just 43 per cent would feel confident giving information on simple day-to-day money matters but nothing complex. Women are more likely to be affected by this, with just 39 per cent claiming to be confident in managing their finances.
Justin Basini, CEO of The ClearScore Group
Justin Basini, co-founder and CEO of ClearScore, discussed the importance of financial education: “Understanding how to manage your money is such a core life skill that it seems a massive missed opportunity not to set children up with basic knowledge of personal finances. The knock-on effects are huge, with people getting into financial difficulties that sometimes easily could have been avoided.
“At ClearScore, we want to empower, educate and save people money. We’re therefore investing in new coaching content, primarily video, that will be coming to our users this Autumn. This will help fill the knowledge gaps we have identified, allowing users to make more informed decisions.”
When asked what factor had the biggest impact on how people managed their money, friends and family scored the highest (40 per cent), almost double the amount of people that said banks and personal finance companies (24 per cent).
At the other end of the spectrum, people were most wary of getting money advice from celebrity influencers (25 per cent), although one in 10 did still say that social media was where they preferred to learn about money.
Younger people, in particular, are more likely to be turning towards social media and influencers, with 13 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds compared with six per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds claiming that celebrities and influencers have the biggest impact on how they manage their money.
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