I mean we've got things like home economics and CDT/D&T or whatever they are calling woodwork etc.. these days which both teach very practical non academic skills useful to just about anyone throughout the rest of their life.
But in addition to being able to bake a cake, cook a meal, wire a plug and do some basic joinery I reckon that it is increasingly important that kids get at least some lessons devoted to finance.
Lots of people don't understand how money is created or know much about inflation, interest rates etc..
A very worrying number of people are in too much debt without knowing how to deal with it (far too many companies seem to be getting set up in order to take advantage of this) and people don't seem to take much notice of things like the APR on a credit card or fully understand its implications until it is too late. Credit card companies have been conning people with useless products like 'payment protection insurance' and there are far too many 'buy now pay later' type ads on TV.
Then there are products specifically aimed at people on lower incomes that really shouldn't be viable products - companies selling expensive desirable consumer products such as LCD TVs etc.. at what look to be affordable monthly payments when in reality they are selling an overpriced TV on credit at a silly APR and spreading the payments out over a long term. These companies only exist because the customers aren't really aware of how much they are being ripped off.
The Christmas hamper ones also annoy me, people don't really realise the implications of investing money in an unregulated company with a small balance sheet until one of them blows up and screws over a bunch of families right before Christmas. Perhaps they have been set up with good intentions, they are certainly not a good idea unless they can segregate the funds their customers have saved.
People on lower incomes are basically very vulnerable to getting screwed over and a good example is the sub prime crisis in the US - loads of people took out mortgages at low introductory rates at a time when interest rates were also low and didn't really realise what they were signing up to & whether they could afford it.
The main problem seems to be that people don't really realise they are being screwed until it is too late.
Edit - and of course that there are some cunts out there ready to take advantage.
But in addition to being able to bake a cake, cook a meal, wire a plug and do some basic joinery I reckon that it is increasingly important that kids get at least some lessons devoted to finance.
Lots of people don't understand how money is created or know much about inflation, interest rates etc..
A very worrying number of people are in too much debt without knowing how to deal with it (far too many companies seem to be getting set up in order to take advantage of this) and people don't seem to take much notice of things like the APR on a credit card or fully understand its implications until it is too late. Credit card companies have been conning people with useless products like 'payment protection insurance' and there are far too many 'buy now pay later' type ads on TV.
Then there are products specifically aimed at people on lower incomes that really shouldn't be viable products - companies selling expensive desirable consumer products such as LCD TVs etc.. at what look to be affordable monthly payments when in reality they are selling an overpriced TV on credit at a silly APR and spreading the payments out over a long term. These companies only exist because the customers aren't really aware of how much they are being ripped off.
The Christmas hamper ones also annoy me, people don't really realise the implications of investing money in an unregulated company with a small balance sheet until one of them blows up and screws over a bunch of families right before Christmas. Perhaps they have been set up with good intentions, they are certainly not a good idea unless they can segregate the funds their customers have saved.
People on lower incomes are basically very vulnerable to getting screwed over and a good example is the sub prime crisis in the US - loads of people took out mortgages at low introductory rates at a time when interest rates were also low and didn't really realise what they were signing up to & whether they could afford it.
The main problem seems to be that people don't really realise they are being screwed until it is too late.
Edit - and of course that there are some cunts out there ready to take advantage.
