The Centre for Financial Capability Welcomes Talk Money Week
8/11/21
The Centre for Financial Capability and KickStart Money welcome the beginning of Talk Money Week on 8 November, an annual campaign to get the nation talking about money. As we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a staggering 9 in 10 UK adults don’t find it easy to talk about money.
At the Centre, we believe that it is crucial to get our children and young people talking about money, so they can develop their financial literacy skills and learn to navigate financial issues as they get older. Currently, only 48% of young people receive a meaningful financial education at home or school, and less than half of young people feel confident in managing money.
Groundbreaking research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that money saving habits and attitudes develop at the age of 7. The Centre for Financial Capability wants to ensure that all primary aged children receive financial education at an age when these money habits are formed. We fully support Talk Money Week and we believe that open and informative conversations about money should be embedded into all aspects of our daily life, including the classroom.
Talking about money and promoting positive habits and attitudes towards money at a young age is essential in building financial resilience needed to face economic shocks and uncertainty. The Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated existing financial problems. 14.5 million people were classified as living in poverty pre-pandemic, with over 700,000 additional people now living below the poverty line as a result of Covid-19. Almost 6 in 10 young people now say that the pandemic has made them feel more anxious about money.
In order to build financial literacy and resilience, the Centre for Financial Capability and KickStart Money are calling for an effective and high-quality financial education across primary schools in the UK. The supporters of the Centre for Financial Capability have raised £1.2 million to fund expert-led financial education to over 20,000 primary school children in the UK, delivered by the charity MyBnk.
All children, no matter their background, should have the opportunity for financial education and so we believe it is vital to #TalkMoney in the classroom.
To find out more about the Centre for Financial Capability, and what we’re doing to open up the conversation on money, please visit us here.
