Inspiring the next generation: Five Wealth on financial education
“Waiting until you’re rich to learn about money is like waiting until you’re married to start dating.” – Fagan and Ver Hage*
Sally Bowles wasn’t wrong when she sang “money makes the world go round” all those years ago in hit musical ‘Cabaret’. Yet we see so many young people grow into adults with little knowledge of how to manage simple finances, let alone create investments or set up mortgages. In fact, research from the Money and Pensions Service’s Financial Wellbeing Survey found that 45 per cent of UK adults don’t feel confident in managing their money day to day. Especially in a cost-of-living crisis, it’s more important than ever to make sure that everyone knows how to manage their money most effectively.
We believe that like any education, finance is best learned young. Whilst it can be thought of as being too complicated or boring, it can be broken down into manageable chunks, typically not taught in schools. A GoHenry study into the effect of financial education from a young age on adulthood adds to a growing amount of evidence to highlight the importance of financial literacy. It found that prioritising financial education could add nearly £7 billion to the UK economy each year.
It’s not just about boosting the economy. It’s about providing education that empowers young people to make informed financial decisions, enabling them to plan wisely and create a stable financial future. It’s also about introducing them to career opportunities they may not have otherwise been exposed to.
Unlocking career potential
Our work experience programme gives young people the opportunity to enter the workplace and learn about the industry by being immersed in the practical environment. Our aim here is to educate the next generation on the range of career options which are available to them.
Approximately 85 per cent of financial planners are male, with only 6 per cent aged under 30. Our work experience programme actively works to try and change this, to encourage people into the industry from more diverse demographics, to protect the longevity and accessibility of the sector.
Sowing the seeds early
Steve Hughes, one of our founding directors, recently visited Davyhulme Primary School during Primary Futures Week. He delivered talks on finances and shared his journey to becoming a financial adviser, with the aim of inspiring the next generation on how to get into the profession.
Steve is also an ‘Education Champion’ for the Personal Finance Society and delivers personal finance workshops in schools to children aged 12-18 as part of a pro-bono initiative. This all forms part of our belief in creating the building blocks of a financial education.
Giving back
Unique to Five Wealth, we also hold ‘Next Gen’ conferences where our clients bring in their children to the office to meet with our team to learn about a range of topics from budgeting, inflation, buying a house, workplace pensions, investing.
We’re passionate about financial education and continuously working on more opportunities to educate the next generation in learning the fundamentals of managing their money. After all, waiting until you’re rich to learn about money is like waiting until you’re married to start dating. It doesn’t pave the way for long term success!
Watch this space for more information about what we’re doing to help educate the next generation.
* Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage in ‘The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide to Getting Good with Money, 2018.