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MSE News: Major strategy launched to improve financial skills

A major 10-year strategy to help consumers prepare for and manage their money has been published today...
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Major strategy launched to improve financial skills

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  • MacMickster
    MacMickster Posts: 3,642 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We need a major strategy to improve the overall standard of basic MATHS in this country.

    Financial skills should be easy for those who understand maths, but almost impossible to teach separately to those without a good grasp of the subject.
    "When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Compulsory examinations for people who want to buy financial products. You must produce a financial driving license of the correct class to get a mortgage, and "HGV" class to trade futures and options.

    No pass, then you should still be allowed to have a basic bank account with debit card.

    As for this "improvement" exercise, do a before and after sampling test to see how much good it will do. Zilch, I expect.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    We need a major strategy to improve the overall standard of basic MATHS in this country.

    The National Numeracy website is a great resource for this and should be advertised a lot more. By everyone.

    I'd love to put their URL into my forum signature if MSE would allow an exception to their rules.

    https://www.nnchallenge.org.uk/home/index.html
  • msallen
    msallen Posts: 1,494 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We need a major strategy to improve the overall standard of basic MATHS in this country.

    Financial skills should be easy for those who understand maths, but almost impossible to teach separately to those without a good grasp of the subject.

    I wish I could "Thank you" this post a thousand times!

    I regularly read questions on here that any reasonably intelligent 10 year old should be able to answer whilst still half asleep.

    Ineptitude in maths has been worn as some sort of badge of honour for too long by too many in this country. Nobody in the public eye who has any level of respect would say laughingly "I can't read and write" without the public being shocked by their attitude, but too many make similar comments about mathematical ability and no-one seems to bat an eyelid.

    Maths has always been important, but in a world where science and technology play an ever growing role (never mind this incentive around finance) it will become harder and harder to play any sort of productive role in society without a good understanding.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I don't need financial skills. I simply need more money!
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    msallen wrote: »
    Ineptitude in maths has been worn as some sort of badge of honour for too long by too many in this country. Nobody in the public eye who has any level of respect would say laughingly "I can't read and write" without the public being shocked by their attitude, but too many make similar comments about mathematical ability and no-one seems to bat an eyelid.

    Similar applies to reading T&Cs. Too many people are proud of not only not reading T&Cs, but also shouting about it from the rooftops. The amount of questions posted on the MSE Forum by people who simply cba to look up the T&Cs is staggering.

    Sure, some T&Cs are still totally unintelligible but especially banks have come a long way simplifying their terms.
  • Goldiegirl
    Goldiegirl Posts: 8,805 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Rampant Recycler Hung up my suit!
    Perhaps a companion strategy could be run alongside, called 'taking responsibility for your actions and not blaming everybody else if it goes wrong'
    Early retired - 18th December 2014
    If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough
  • I like the idea of the strategy, but it should go hand in hand with making businesses pay a genuine living wage; preventing the banks et al making money of predatory practices that are intentionally too difficult for the majority to understand (or sold by pushy sales people who lie about what is in the contract or don't encourage people to read them); and regulating renting so that people can afford clean, safe accommodation.

    There is no maths or financial education that can help if your wages aren't enough to live and benefits are randomly taken away on the governments whim.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    There is no maths or financial education that can help if your wages aren't enough to live and benefits are randomly taken away on the governments whim.
    It's ironic that your post follows straight after Goldiegirl's one. If more people assumed responsibility for themselves and didn't point at others for their own misery, many if not most of them would be significantly better off.
    In addition, the UK benefit budget would be massively lower and those that genuinely need support would find it easier to get and keep it.
  • jimjames
    jimjames Posts: 18,264 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I don't need financial skills. I simply need more money!

    But if you have no financial skills then you have no idea that a better bank account will save you money or that paying 60p for 1kg of veg is better than £1 for 500g of packaged veg.
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
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