Using a credit card to pay for goods and services ‘doesn’t count as real spending’. That’s the startling conclusion to a recent survey into attitudes towards cash and spending by Britain’s 16 to 24 year olds.
The survey, published in the Daily Mail, also found that young people were generally poor in looking after their money, with many running out of cash on a regular basis and relying on parental handouts.
Poor money management
A third of the teenagers questioned in the research from Barclays said that they didn’t consider using credit cards ‘real spending’. In addition, over a third of young people (34 per cent) admitted to regularly running out of cash, despite considering themselves to be ‘savers’ rather than ‘spenders’.
The Daily Mail reports that ‘the report into spending habits in the 16 to 24 year age group also reveals how a third of 22 to 24 year olds still rely on handouts from their parents to survive. And as many as one in four unemployed youngsters and 13 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 constantly run out of money.’
Whilst the study found that three quarters of young people had saved in the last year, the money was being put aside for clothes or gadgets rather than long term savings.
Youth attitudes to money need to improve
The research from Barclays in conjunction with a number of children’s charities was designed to highlight the lack of formal financial education amongst young people. Action for Children, the National Youth Agency and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services have come together to offer help with saving, spending, budgeting and avoiding debt.
Just 4 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they had received financial education from their school or college, with 90 per cent instead relying on advice from parents or friends.
Deanna Oppenheimer of Barclays said: ‘It is essential that vulnerable young people are given the best start in life. Having good money management skills, particularly when faced with a constrained budget, is vital to enhancing their life opportunities and preparing them for independent living.”
