MSE News: Saving money can be child's play

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"As a nation, we've educated our youth into debt but never about debt, which seriously damages the country's finances ..."

Read the full story:
Saving money can be child's play

[Deleted User]

A fantastic idea, but it needs to be grounded in reality and taught consistently across different age groups.

I'm fairly certain that by lobbing it into the PHSE class (which no student takes seriously anyway) it's just a box-ticking exercise and they won't devote much time to it.

What needs to happen is for moneysaving and economics to be interwoven throughout other subjects like maths to help make sense of things.

As an example, the financial issues facing teenagers are very different to sixth-formers. Typical issues could be:

- Which mobile phone tariff to choose from
- Buying a car and the associated running costs
- Student finance and loans

Different age groups require different issues, but rather than chuck the lot into a few hours of PHSE across a term, why not base your maths lessons around these topics instead?

e.g. when working out compound interest, use a personal loan as the basis for the question? Let students understand the rule of 78 etc.

There are lots of easy ways of making moneysaving relevant, but I don't believe that PHSE is the right one. It's just a throwaway gesture from the government.

emphatiC_hanK

Whilst the aims and sentiments of this article are extremely commendable, I'm not sure that the claim at the end, namely that education of this type might have avoided the current recession, is a valid conclusion to draw.

Taking the theory to the extreme, it could easily be argued that if everyone became a 'hardcore' moneysaver, then that might, perversely, have had a detrimental overall effect on the economy.

Lokolo

Being taught and acting are 2 completely different things.

I wasn't really taught about saving money, however, look at me now

BonandDom

I agree that this needs to be thought through very carefull.

I'm not sure but it seems my DD's school has looked at something like this.

She came home on friday "depressed because with my chosen career path I cannot afford to live".

When questioned she told me they had calculated these figures;-

Her montly take home salary (based on the averge) = £1,500.00

Rent = £900.00 :eek:(and no we don't live in a particularly expensive area - 3 bed rent is £500ish)

Utilities = £250.00:eek:

Car expenses (running of) = £250:eek:

Car loan = £200.00

Council tax = £100 (about right for a house that would cost £900 to rent!)

Telephone = £100 :eek:


So the lesson here was what?

This exercise was followed by one about benefits - I am gobsmacked and am currently wording an email to the school asking for the lesson plan, aims and objecives of this lesson.

I hope my thoughts are proved wrong. My DH and myself have always been fortunate enough to have full time employment and had hoped to instill into our DD that being employed, earning a salary, prefably doing something you enjoy, and having a bit of spare cash at the end of the month was something to aim for.

Instead, we had a family chat on saturday as she now wants to change her further education path so she can get a job that pays more, but not one that she particularly wants to do, afford to pay her rent and other bills. We spent sunday surfing the net looking at house prices and we even did a SOA from here for her.

Lokolo

Where did they get those figures from? Half of them are bs.

- Car loan? You won't have a loan, you will save up for your card.
- Rent is completely out of proportion. If you had a house that expensive you'd live with others as the house would be too big to live in on your own.
- Car expenses of £250 a month is out of proportion. I run mine on £100 (insurance + petrol)
- Council tax would be less with single persons discount
-Utilities, yes for a single person in a £900 rent house lol.

---

If you want heres my budget:

Income - £1228

Typcail Outgoings:

Food £100
Rent £320
Council Tax £0 (student)
Petrol £60
Bills £40
Phone £30
Charity £5
Savings £250
Going Out Getting Drunk etc £200
Work Food £20
Entertainment £20
Birthday Xmas etc £20

I also live a life of luxury, get Dominos every 2 weeks. As you can tell by my Going Out Getting Drunk spending, I could cut it further.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Don't worry Martin, the little ones at the Desperate household are so well ingrained about money they don't need the input from school!

Lokolo

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

Don't worry Martin, the little ones at the Desperate household are so well ingrained about money they don't need the input from school!

Your children listen to you? How old are they?

ragz_2

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

Don't worry Martin, the little ones at the Desperate household are so well ingrained about money they don't need the input from school!

Which leads to the point I was about to make. Isn't it our job as parents to educate our own children about money? Mine are 2, 3 and a month old. The older two have money boxes that I give them money for, they save up and when we have enough in there we take it to the bank and change it then go and buy them a toy... teaching them about numbers as well as saving money - and they aren't even at school yet.
The schools have enough to do, I think parents should take some responsibility.

(Though conversely, I am having to help my parents and inlaws with credit cards etc and budgeting, so I'm not sure where I got my money sense from... wait, yes I am, this site lol)

MSE_Martin

ragz wrote: »

Which leads to the point I was about to make. Isn't it our job as parents to educate our own children about money? Mine are 2, 3 and a month old. The older two have money boxes that I give them money for, they save up and when we have enough in there we take it to the bank and change it then go and buy them a toy... teaching them about numbers as well as saving money - and they aren't even at school yet.
The schools have enough to do, I think parents should take some responsibility.

(Though conversely, I am having to help my parents and inlaws with credit cards etc and budgeting, so I'm not sure where I got my money sense from... wait, yes I am, this site lol)

I hear that view from a minority. Yet we are as I state in the main a financially illeterate nation that has worked up a huge debt problem. Finance is getting more not less complex. I dont think its solely the job of teachers to do financial education - indeed there are resources on this site to help parents, yet it is crucial that everyone gets some s education on this and schools have a role to play.

A formalised teaching education combined with parental guidance is an ideal.

As i note when i did the teen cash class the kids saved their parents £6,000 - so are parents knowledgable enough to teach their kids (the 2nd biggest saving was from the headmasters son!)

Consumerist

It seems to me that finacial education, from whatever source, could make basic mathematics less boring.

If it helps children to engage in mathematics, because it has relevance to their everyday lives, then perhaps our nations pitiful record for school leavers unable to do basic arithmetic could be improved.
.