As a 16-year-old student, I of course know everything: from duplicitous champagne socialists in English literature to frivolous painters in art. So I can see how others wouldassume my cohort and I also knowthe basics about money.
However, I am afraid that is not the case. Three-quarters of students said they did not get enough financial education in school, according to Save the Student, a money website. Seven in 10 students regularly worry about money and eight in ten want to learn more about it during school, research by The London Institute of Business and Finance found.
Financial literacy has been part of the National Curriculum since 2014, but is not required to be its own distinct lesson. It isusually integrated into other subjects, such as citizenship or maths.
But this only applies to schools maintained by local authorities–academies and free schools (which account for 35pc of schools in England) have no obligation to teach it.
I was not so lucky and as I get older, there are a lot of things I wish I had been taught in school.
1. Mortgages
Like most people, I aspire to one day own a house. Two thirds of households in England own their own home, according to the latest English Housing Survey, butI don’t know how to go about joining them. The housing market is an incomprehensible and baffling place for a young person to navigate – and working out stamp duty, mortgages, deposits and loans is no easy feat.
The average house in England costs £267,000 according to the Office for National Statistics, so it is imperative that young people know how mortgages work, otherwisehow will they know how much they need to earn and decidewhat job to do.
The Government is determined to get more young people onto the property ladder through various initiatives, such as the Help to Buy Scheme,but before that, the best initiativewould be a lesson aboutmortgages.
2. Compound interest
Young people are not taught about how interest works – we do not learn about the spiralling costs of borrowing and the rewards for saving, or how rates are set and change.
Perhapsif we were taught about compound interestwe would understand the benefits of savingfor the futurerather than impulsively spending all our money on trivial items.
3. Tax
One thing young people like me are completely oblivious to is how the taxation system works. Around 78pc of students report receiving noinformationabout tax at school.
I do not know how much tax I will be expected to pay or how tax bands work. Most young people do not even know about the Personal Allowance–the amount of money you earn on which you are exempt from tax – currently the first £12,500 you make.
If onething we can be sure of in life is taxes,why are wenot taught about them?
4. Budgeting
My generation is accused of being“unconscious” of moneyand believing“money grows on trees”, but is it any surprise we don’t know what to do with money when we have not been taughtmoney management skills?
To help usunderstandthe importanceof budgeting, weneed to know about the expenses our parents have to pay, such as council tax andnational insurance andhow long they save up for luxuries. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees.
In a couple of years, I will be off to university andwill need to know how to budget if I am to nothave to constantly relyon the bank of mum and dad.
5. Investment
We don’t know anything about investment. Many of us are lucky to receive money for our birthdays, from Child Trust Fundsand from grandparents, but we don’t know what to do with it except spend it on clothes or games.
Young people need to be taught about different types of investing, such as passive and active investments – and the benefits and risks of each.
I have saved over £7,000 (through birthday money, Christmas gifts and working)and I am eager to dosomething productive with this and invest it, butI don’t know where to start. How can I invest it strategically, safely and legally?
I am one of the fortunate young people who received a Child Trust Fund (all children born between Sept 1, 2002 and Jan 1, 2011 received one)andnow that I am 16,have been givencontrol of it. I would like to know where my money was invested and what I should do with it next.
6. Bank account basics
Online banking can beconfusing and scary.Part of the problem is a lack of high-quality, up-to-date teaching tools to help students learn about managing money online.
Children can have a bank account from the ageof 11, when they are still in primary school, so basic bank account knowledge is vital.We need to learn to recognise scams and the importance of checking bank statements regularly to avoid spending too much and incurring unexpected charges.
Instead of teaching students like me the “imperativeness of equality”(with lessons aboutteam building, discriminationand prejudicein society), perhaps we should be learning about the “imperativeness of money”; after all, without money we frivolous and meritless.
Secondaryeducation lacks lessons about money management, budgeting, loans, credit cards and interest rates– all topics I will encounter as soon as I turn 18.Maybe it is time to add financial literacy to the curriculum, in addition to conventional literacy.
