Children aware of cost of living pressures

Nine out of ten (93%) 11-18-year-olds in the UK are aware of the cost of living crisis and six out of ten (61%) worry about their parents or guardians not having enough money to do the things they want or have the things they need, according to new research from Yorkshire Building Society.

More than three quarters (77%) of 11-18-year-olds in the UK surveyed said that their parents or guardians have talked about the need to cut back on certain things to save money. Out of these households, most are cutting back on excessive energy consumption (58%), followed by ‘luxuries’ such as takeaways or eating out (55%), holidays and leisure activities (both 34% respectively). Although starkly, over a quarter (27%) are cutting back on essentials like groceries or fuel.

The research was conducted as the Society launched its new Money Minds online financial education platform for children and young people aged 11-18 this month and also follows the publication of Yorkshire Building Society’s Inflation Nation report which seeks to understand how prepared UK adults are to cope with the cost of living crisis – and shows the average UK household will be short of £100 a month by 2024, as the cost of living crisis leads to expenditure outstripping incomes.

Stephen White, Interim Chief Executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said “Our research has highlighted that the cost of living crisis is leading to children and young people worrying about what it means for them and their families. That’s why we have developed Money Minds online as part of our purpose of helping real life happen. It forms part of our commitment that has seen us invest £1.8million investment over two years into supporting skills, employment, financial education and wellbeing.”“As it is ultimately in everyone’s interests to improve the financial resilience of households across the UK, it is Yorkshire Building Society’s view that policymakers could and should do more to support households that are struggling to save money, to enable those households to build up financial resilience, to help protect them against the rising cost of living and unexpected financial shocks.

“Policy changes that might be made include extending existing schemes such as Help to Save to provide additional support to a wider range of households, rather than only those that qualify for support from benefits and introducing financial education earlier into the national curriculum in England.”

Imran Hussain, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Action for Children said “This Yorkshire Building Society research is further evidence that children and young people worry about their family’s finances. The families on the lowest incomes will be hardest hit by the current cost of living crisis and more must be done to protect children and young people from its pain and misery, helping them to have safe and happy childhoods.”