Reach Them Before Credit Card Companies Do
ICAEW, and Personal Finance Education Group, (PFEG) is an education charity that works to teach financial responsibility to school children. They work to improve financial literacy. One project they are building is a database of consultants and individuals from the finance industry who will volunteer to offer financially solid advice to school aged children.
Alastair Mathews, the director of policy at PFEG, claims the schools are more concerned with student’s exam grades than teaching them how to cope with life and to understand ‘what is useful in life’.
The government’s new proposal to integrate financial studies into the mathematics curriculum by 2008 is a positive step forward. The government is currently consulting with PFEG and making plans to implement a working solution at the grade school level.
Recent events in the financial industry have made the government and watchdog companies aware of the need for consumer education. Consumers can no longer trust the person representing the financial institution to respect their best intentions. The high debt opens up the industry to unscrupulous companies in the doorstep loan, AVI, insolvency firms, and quick cash industry.
This new project should have a positive effect on reputable lending companies that handle mortgages, secured loans, and credit by reducing the competition. When consumers understand what they are buying, they will be more open to solid financial services, and less likely to fall for a slick sale’s pitch. They should also be less likely to use high interest credit cards as indiscriminately as many UK debtors are.
This is the goal PFEG, ICAEW and the government are working toward
Good to see that the message of responsible finance is slowly spreading. In my opinion, parents have an equal part to play in educating their children both by encouragement and by example. I hope supporting parents is also part of the government’s future plans. I’ve made a few points of what mums and dads can do to ensure a bright future for their children:
As you mentioned, with debt as high as it currently is consumers are more and more at risk from their own lack of knowledge.
Comment by DadCafe — Tue 28th Nov, 2006 @ 4:23 pm