Budget 2021: Almost half of UK adults felt they were not taught adequate money skills

As we expect 2021’s Budget to be revealed later, how many of us Brits know how to effectively budget and handle our own money? Nationally representative research from leading online tutoring platform, MyTutor, has asked the nation what they felt was lacking from their school curriculum, with budgeting, DIY and mental health skills revealed to the most wished for subjects to have been taught.

The findings of the study also highlight the considerable difference in generational attitudes towards life skills. Whereas more than a quarter (26%) of people aged 65+ feel they were taught all the life skills they needed, that falls to fewer than one in 10 (8%) in the 18-24 age group.

In addition to the general attitude towards life skills, specific skills are now being prioritised by younger generations, including topics like credit scores (28% of 18-24 vs 8% of 65+) and how to buy a house (35% of 18-24 vs 15% of 65+).

The biggest change in attitude is found in mental health awareness. More than two-thirds (43%) of those aged 18-24 felt they wanted more mental health teaching at school, compared with fewer than one-fifth (19%) of those over 65; the biggest difference in attitude towards all the skills researched.

Overall, women were significantly more likely to wish they had learned more about mental health awareness (43% vs 32%), and financial issues like budgeting (46% vs 38%) and managing money (43% vs 36%). Meanwhile, men were more likely to say they would like to have developed coding skills (19% vs 12%), and communication skills (40% v 37%).

Bertie Hubbard, Founder and CEO at MyTutor said:

“It’s worrying that so many of us feel that we didn’t get enough preparation for the day-to-day challenges of living independently while we were at school. And with teachers more stretched than ever, there is no sign of this trend ending for today’s school children either.

“Parents and guardians will always be a source for life skills advice, but as our research demonstrates life skills priorities differ from generation to generation.

“It’s crucial that parents and teachers have a range of resources available to support them, which is where one-to-one support from tutors closer in age to their children can be invaluable.

Our tutors are handpicked university students with the benefit of recent experience so can share practical real-world examples of important life skills relevant to the younger generation.”