Quarter of parents concerned about children’s debt

The next generation are likely to be less capable of dealing with their finances than their mums and dads, a survey of parents suggests.

Research by M&S Money found that a quarter of parents think their children will find it easier to get into debt.

Many are concerned that their offspring will be unable to manage their own money and meet repayments on any personal loans and credit cards they may use.

One in five also suggested that schools do not give enough practical guidance on personal finance and that there is too much jargon for young people to understand.

Colin Kersley, chief executive of M&S Money, said: "Having been through one of the most complicated couple of years for family finances, the importance of getting things right for the future has never been more important.

"Too many of today’s parents are not yet confident about the nation’s efforts to improve financial awareness and ability for the next generation."

Rod McKee, head of financial capability at the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ School of Finance, recently warned that many people do not have enough personal finance education to cope with the current economic situation.

He told the FT Adviser website that the consequences of poor financial capability affect "all levels" of society, but that the cause "is nearly always the same and goes back to poor financial education". 

Source: compareandsave.com