Debt management do you think it should start at school

fizz26

ryandj wrote: »

Sorry, I know, I am annoying!

My point was that a lot of people leave school without being fully literate or numerate. Either down to the education system or due to not paying attention.

Finance does get taught in school, at least it was when I went to school - and that was not all that long ago.

I may not be able to spell very well but I left college with 12 level 3 diplomas in holistic and 1st grade medicine

fizz26

staffie1 wrote: »

When were you at school? It wasn't taught when I was at school 19 yrs ago, and nothing since - apart from this very website.

i left in 1990 thats like moons ago now. I know im glad i've found this site too :T

staffie1

fizz26 wrote: »

i left in 1990 thats like moons ago now. I know im glad i've found this site too :T

You will find this site a revelation. I had my LBM only recently after finding this site and just exploring it. Fantastic feeling it was too :j

ryandj

I finished my GCSE's in 1996, so it will be 13 years ago this summer.

We got taught about budgeting in PSE (Personal Social Education - not sure what that class is called these days) and things like interest rates were taught in maths. As was adding, taking away, dividing. Algebra is actually very useful in planning your budget.

ryandj

fizz26 wrote: »

I may not be able to spell very well but I left college with 12 level 3 diplomas in holistic and 1st grade medicine

Well done! Are you a doctor?

Ames

I left school in 1997. We had one less in PSE which was how to write a cheque, and the advice that debt's bad and shares are good. This in a school which primarily served a big council estate where people were highly unlikely ever to be in a position to buy shares. Nothing about interest rates or budgeting.

As for parents teaching, mine got loans for various things and were always overdrawn to the extent of their wage. There's an entire generation now that are used to the idea of credit and debt, how are they supposed to teach their children lessons that they never got?

GrammarGirl

When I was at primary school, every pupil in my year was given a Yorkshire Bank checking account (with parental permission) and every Thursday we would take a trip to the bank to pay in any money we had. My mum would give me 50p pocket money a week (think I was about 10-11 at the time) to go into my 'savings account'... When I left primary school, my mum transfered the money into a Halifax savings account and as I got older I was able to pay into the account myself. It had about £300 in when I left for uni, and I used this money for my first rental property deposit!

Despite this, I've never been a saver. I don't have a great deal of debt and I manage my money quite well, but the ritual of putting money into an account and not spending it has never held fast with me!

Sharon87

I left school in 2003 and we weren't taught much about budgeting, our PSE lessons consisted mostly of sex ed! We had 2 lessons about budgets, but I can't remember anything about it, it was a bit useless, there wasn't anything about how to manage borrowing or anything.

carkeyz

I left school in 2006 and have never been taught much about finances. I think thinks like APR's debt management, how to avoid debt and lessons explaining what different types of mortgages are would be the most beneficial thing.
In PSE all we had was debates on things like abortion, Ku Klux Klan and euthanasia which although it was good to learn about these things 5 years at secondary school shouldn't have consisted of this surely?

PS I re-read that for spelling mistakes 3 times!

Lemon_Tree

i think parents should teach children that to get money you have to work, even if it means they have to tidy their bedrooms etc to get their pocket money. they should also teach children the value of things, and that if you don't look after something and it gets lost/ broken/ stolen then you have to save to get a replacement. I do think schools should teach budgetting and about debt especially as children are expected to take student loans to get through university.