Would teaching better money habits allow the British public to better deal with the cost of living crisis?

For many of us, education comes hand in hand with our childhood and teenage years – whether that’s learning to read and write or getting to grips with life’s everyday tasks and challenges. However, when it comes to money, each person has their own experience of gaining financial responsibility.

Looking to those around us to inspire better money habits could be key. Over a third of us (36%) say they’re regularly investing and saving having picked this up from others, and the same goes for paying off debt as quickly as possible (29%) and paying attention to savings rates and current accounts (19%).

Half (50%) of us admit to not discussing finances with family, friends, or peers until at least aged 19, while 15% confessed to leaving it past the age of 30. A further 20% of us aren’t open to discussing savings with family and friends at all, and just 14% are very open to discussing investments and pension contributions.

This late awakening could be impacting how hard UK consumers are making their money work, with 39% of consumers having not discussed savings products like ISAs at all when growing up – despite the potential benefits of the tax-free accounts.

Lifting the lid on those influences, only one in eight (13%) consider themselves to be very money savvy, but this more than doubles to 29% for those who consider their parents or guardians to be very money-savvy too. But money savviness doesn’t just come from friends and family.



Looking at wider influences, half (45%) of Brits mention experts like Martin Lewis, followed by banks (37%), newspapers or magazines (20%), and forums or the internet (20%). Schools or higher education (15%) and employers (14%) all rank lower.

The research from Nutmeg comes as we approach the end of the current Tax Year, at what can be a confusing time when many people may not be aware of the steps they can take to spring clean their finances. Claire Exley, head of advice and guidance at Nutmeg, is available for interviews to discuss the research, champion financial education, and share her top tips for building better financial health – from more discussions about money with our children and those around us, to how the late starters among us can catch up.