Money Advice For Students Needed

The government recently announced that it is likely students will end up being even more in debt in the future with the rise of tuition fees. Perhaps people who go to University need to learn about how to manage debt as well as their chosen subject?

New research has revealed that the average level of student debt has risen by more than nine percent in the last few years and that it is set to rise even higher.

The study, done by a leading accommodation provider, warned that a higher proportion of students were getting into financial debt with students loans, bank overdrafts, personal loans and credit cards. The firm laid the blame squarely on the fact that many students had never had to deal with debt and so were ill equipped to cope under such sudden and huge financial strain, at such a young age.

This particularly applied to those from lower income families who were already struggling to manage money and could not afford to support their children at university.

A spokesperson for the company said: "With student debt increasing, we believe that students should be given far more financial planning guidance if we are to ensure that fewer drop out of university for financial reasons."

It has been suggested by government officials that personal finance skills should be taught as part of the national curriculum to children in schools. The improvement of people’s financial literacy has been described as an issue of social responsibility.

If school age children are able to ‘balance the books’ with their pocket money perhaps they will be much more prepared for the full financial rigours of adult life and be able to survive mortgages and bills and even teach their parents a few money saving tricks.