Survey of Personal Finances among Teens
PERSONAL FINANCES
So on Junior Achievement site I found a survey about Teens and personal finances in 2013. They examined how teens view the importance of effective spending, saving and budgeting—and their opinions around how well they perform those tasks.
This survey shows us that teen population nowadays is more optimistic than in the past years about its financial future, and yet still faces challenges related to successfully managing its money.
In fact, even though optimism among teens is increasing, more of them say that they will remain financially dependent on their parents for a longer period of time. The percentage of teens who say they will be able to support themselves between ages 25-27 has doubled over the last two years, from 12 percent to 25 percent. However, the percentage of teens who feel they will be financially able to support themselves between the ages of 18 and 24 has fallen from 75 percent in 2011 to 59 percent in 2013.
Part of the reason teens expect to live with parents longer may be because they are unsure about their ability to budget, use credit cards or invest money, for example:
23 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to budget successfully
20 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to use credit cards
34 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to invest money
So for the conclusion of this survey: even though the optimism among teens is growing, they still need some more education and more possibilities for them to learn how to use their money properly.
Financial education needs to take place all the way from grade school through high school.
Grade schools are doing it right already. They teach kids about money and how to shop and make change, which is age appropriate. After fifth grade, however, personal finance is forgotten. Kids turn to algebra and geometry and never get back to money. That's a problem.
On The Wall Street Journal site I found an article
So on Junior Achievement site I found a survey about Teens and personal finances in 2013. They examined how teens view the importance of effective spending, saving and budgeting—and their opinions around how well they perform those tasks.
This survey shows us that teen population nowadays is more optimistic than in the past years about its financial future, and yet still faces challenges related to successfully managing its money.
In fact, even though optimism among teens is increasing, more of them say that they will remain financially dependent on their parents for a longer period of time. The percentage of teens who say they will be able to support themselves between ages 25-27 has doubled over the last two years, from 12 percent to 25 percent. However, the percentage of teens who feel they will be financially able to support themselves between the ages of 18 and 24 has fallen from 75 percent in 2011 to 59 percent in 2013.
Part of the reason teens expect to live with parents longer may be because they are unsure about their ability to budget, use credit cards or invest money, for example:
23 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to budget successfully
20 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to use credit cards
34 percent of teens are extremely unsure about their ability to invest money
So for the conclusion of this survey: even though the optimism among teens is growing, they still need some more education and more possibilities for them to learn how to use their money properly.
Financial education needs to take place all the way from grade school through high school.
Grade schools are doing it right already. They teach kids about money and how to shop and make change, which is age appropriate. After fifth grade, however, personal finance is forgotten. Kids turn to algebra and geometry and never get back to money. That's a problem.
On The Wall Street Journal site I found an article