Society’s financial education lessons help prepare thousands of Scottish children and young people for future

Yorkshire Building Society’s Saving Generation Z report showed over a third (39%) of young people said they lacked the knowledge to make important financial decisions, but those who said they had received financial education at school were more likely to say they felt knowledgeable about key financial concepts such as tax (+11%pts), debt (+9%pts), and mortgages (+8%pts), than those who did not.

The research also showed that half (50%) of young people believed that receiving financial education at school would make their finances better and half (52%) got their financial advice from family members.

To help support the delivery of financial education in schools, the Society delivered face-to-face financial education sessions in classrooms through its flagship Money Minds programme, which sees the Society’s colleagues volunteer their time to deliver a series of lessons to teach children and young people of all ages and abilities about money.

Chris Irwin, director of savings at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Helping people with their financial wellbeing is at the heart of our purpose as a building society. We know that people who engage in positive financial behaviours such as saving are generally less anxious about money, and have greater life satisfaction overall and that is why our colleagues have been out to schools and youth organisations to deliver financial education lessons to over 13,000 children and young people across the UK in the last year – including over 2,200 in Scotland.

“Our research shows most young people rely on family to learn about money, meaning those from less financially savvy families may be at a disadvantage. There is an opportunity for us to help future generations have the best start in life, by teaching them important life skills and core financial information at school.

“Delivering financial education in a way that helps people have the knowledge to deal with real-life issues, will help more people have a good foundation in life to face the future and its challenges, with confidence and optimism.”

Since the Society launched Money Minds in 2015 more than 70,000 children and young people in the UK have benefitted from a lesson. For parents, teachers and 11-19 year olds, the Money Minds online platform offers free resources covering topics such as keeping money safe, budgeting, making good choices, lending and borrowing, fraud and scams, what employers want, and relationships and money.