Alarming News about Teens & Money

A new study set out to find out and discovered that more than four in ten of the teenagers who took part said they were uncertain about their financial future with more than 7% already saying they are pessimistic about their outlook.

The Mission Square Research Institute report also found that 42% of respondents (all aged 13-18) said they are “terrified” of not having enough money for their future needs and goals, although two thirds admit that they don’t tend to save for the future when they receive money, while 23% save for their education, and 13% invest.

Most teens were not thinking about saving for retirement with most saying that it’s something that can wait until they are older, 80% have no clue about FICO scores, and 43% believe that an interest rate of 18% is manageable and can be paid off over time.

Gaps in teens’ financial literacy are understandable given than less than half of respondents have taken a financial literacy or personal finance class in high school, although this is an improvement from less than one third who said this in a similar poll a year ago.

NOTE: 1) Take a class at a local institution, 2) balance a checkbook, and; 3) Read a book that gives general info for a lifetime of financial self-care.  Here’s where I would look: Nolo.com for book on Credit Repair, and a comprehensive educational text on financial issues that cover one’s life: 

Loose Leaf for Personal Finance (The Mcgraw Hill Education in Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) 14th Edition by Jack R. Kapoor (Author), Les R. Dlabay (Author), Robert J. Hughes (Author), Melissa Hart (Author)