By Kate Smart
Elsby & Co
Chartered Accountants
AS a nation, we have a problem (well we have quite a few) but one of significant concern is the ever-increasing debt amongst 18-25 year olds.
Why? Because we don’t educate them on handling their money in schools at all. Personal Finance is not part of the curriculum and at 18 they leave school and go onto university or to work and are given free rein in an exciting new world of money which they can access at the touch of a button:
Student loans – Well it is such low interest and it doesn’t get paid off for ages… what’s the harm?
Credit cards – Go on then, why not!
Car loans – Sure, sign them up, they need wheels;
Overdrafts – Obviously!
And don’t forget the sinister sibling of lending… pay day loans (it’s only 3000 per cent APR!)
All available to them on the morning they wake up aged 18; it’s truly frightening how easy it is for them to get into the cycle of debt.
We all have a responsibility to ensure the future of the country is not built on the next generation drowning in debt before they reach 22 years old. It’s crazy when you think about it, isn’t it?
I heard on the news that poorest students will leave university with £57,000 (yes £57,000) of debt.
So, we felt we had to get involved – as accountants we know a thing or two about budgeting, coupled with a moral obligation to protect the next generations future, we got out thinking caps on. And #MoneyTalks was born.
For the past few months, we have been working with local schools on an initiative we have developed targeted at 16 to 18-year-olds. It’s an interactive workshop that the pupils really engage with; they are tasked with putting together a monthly budget for either a university student or a school leaver going straight into work. They must work out their monthly income from an annual figure and then think about the cost of Essential Stuff and Selfie Stuff. It’s brilliant to watch them all debate and start to work out how much things really cost. I’ve heard some real gems, rent for £80 per month? Umm no, I’m afraid not…
We are now on a mission to get this workshop on the curriculum, Department of Education, here we come…
To find out more, contact Elsby & Co on 01604 678470 or visit www.elsbyandco.co.uk
