As personal finance becomes more complex, many believe that learning how to handle money is becoming as important as health and sex education. It is estimated that students will owe between £7,000 and £10,000 on completing university. This book looks at a range of financial issues relevant to young people including: student debt, loans, budgeting, debit and credit cards, savings and pensions. The book also devotes a chapter to financial planning.
The information comes from a wide variety of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Personal Finances
Catching them young, A generation unskilled in the art of budgeting, Being taught about money matters, £1bn power of the tweenagers, Study shows debt as a recipe for family friction, Saving money, You’re never too young to spend, spend, spend, Spending money, Cash in hand, Money – earning it, Is a cashless society on the cards?, The moneywise generation, What schools should teach about financial matters, Vital lessons.
Chapter Two: Money Management
You and your money, Saving money, Managing your own bank account, Banking, Earn as you learn?, Student debt, Banks, Managing money, Ten tips for cutting debt, Credit cards, Storing up trouble, Managing your money, Student expenditure, Student debt, Student loan scheme, ‘There is a real need to upgrade financial literacy’, Items bought in the last week, Managing your debts, ‘Avoid credit card debt’, students warned, In a degree of debt, Thinking of university?.
Key Facts
Additional Resources
Index
• Two-thirds of the problems younger people have with debt is related to credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, loans and other sorts of easy credit. (p. 03)
• Many children take on part-time jobs. The Halifax found that nearly one in four 11 to 16-year-olds have a part-time job earning, on average, £27.31 a week. (p. 06)
• There are two billion credit cards on high streets across the globe: they're part of our culture. (p. 09)
• Borrowing, excluding mortgage debt, has never been higher. The figure has now topped £150 billion, according to the Bank of England. (p. 12)
• The government wants 50% of young people to be in higher education by 2010. (p. 20)
• While an eight-hour day is normal in the workplace, for many students it's just the start: 56% put in up to 20 hours of paid work a week on top of their education. (p. 20)
• Depending on your year of study, the overdraft limit is usually between £750 and £2,000 (it grows as your student debts accumulate). (p. 21)
• Some store cards can charge you interest rates of around 30% a year. (p. 26)
• The NUS Student Hardship Survey (1999) found that 41% of full-time undergraduates sampled undertook paid work during periods of study. The average hours of work were 13 per week and average pay was £4.53 per hour. (p.29)
• National Debtline tel: 0808 808 4000 - expert advice over the telephone. They can also send you a free self-help pack Dealing with Your Debts which gives lots more information as well as telling you how to prepare a Budget Sheet or Personal Budget and a Financial Statement. (p. 35)
• Surveys have suggested that graduates can expect to finish university with a student loan, overdraft and other debts totalling between £10,000 and £15,000. (p. 36)
• At today's prices, it costs about £7,500 to go to university for a year (add an extra £1,000 for a university in London). (p. 38)
Money Matters Study Guide
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.50
ISBN: 978 1 86168 281 9
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