May 21 2008
A new study by the AXA Financial Task Force has found that many teenagers are prepared to take large financial commitments like loans and credit cards without having the ability to budget properly.
In the study, 20 children between the ages of 15 and 17 were asked to budget a household for a week with £248.40. The results showed that 70 per cent were not able to complete the task successfully and some spent over double their allocated amount.
Professor Nick Chater, a member of the AXA Financial Task Force, said: "Many teenagers are on the cusp of leaving home for university or to get a job and while some will naturally approach money with diligence, our study suggests that they simply may not be able to cope with budgeting effectively."
This may be of interest to those looking to set up a child trust fund to be used by their offspring in later life.
British children should be educated about finance from an early age, says the charity group Rainer.
It believes that by doing so millions of children today could avoid financial difficulties when they get older.
