Its time to change the attitude of the young to debt.

Recent research carried out by R3 the Insolvency trade body into the attitude of young and old people to debt has found the following

    * 36% of 18-24 year olds would rather bury their heads in the sand than deal with debts compared to 9% of 55-64 year olds
    * A staggering 26% do not even open their bills compared to 10% of over 65 year olds
    * 28% try to avoid contact with people they owe money to. This is 11% for over 65s
    * 30% do not even know who to contact for help compared to 8% of over 65s
    * 44% of all ages still believe that you have to pay for debt advice.

Has the time now come to demand that the government change the National Curriculum so that financial planning and money management are an essential part of a child’s education?

By the time they leave school children should know how to budget, how to save and what they can do if it all goes wrong.

Also it might be worthwhile to provide additional education to those under 25s who have suffered from debt problems so that they don’t make the same mistake in the future.

Maybe it is now time also for the financial institution to be more proactive on how they lend to the young. Have reduced credit limits or capped limit. Reward those who pay off there credit each month and remove facilities for those who pay the bare minimum so they can not rack up large debts.

By teaching the next generation about how to deal with there finances better and that credit be used in proportion to a person’s income it should hopefully lead to less long term financial problems.

What do you think?