Youngsters 'learn financial lessons during recession'

Thursday, April 1st 2010

The recession has taught young people financial lessons that they may not otherwise have received.

According to Gary Millner, director of operations at the Personal Finance and Education Group (pfeg), educating youngsters about finance when they are at school is a perfect opportunity.

"Everybody should have the basic skills and knowledge to be more competent, confident and make financially astute decisions," Mr Millner explained.

And when speaking to youngsters about money, making the topic relevant to them - such as talking about mobile phones - will make them more willing to learn.

He added that relevant subject matter encourages them to make better decisions.

This follows research from NatWest, which found that 67 per cent of 10,000 British teenagers polled said they came out of the recession with better money management skills.

Boys are more likely to save money than girls and teenagers in the north-east were found to be the biggest savers.