About time. I was taught Pythagoras’s theorem (something I think I’ve used once in my life: when working out the size of a widescreen TV!) and the atomic weight of elements (nope, can’t say I’ve ever used that), but for some reason compound interest and budgeting was never deemed important enough to mention.
I am fortunate in that I come from a family that was always careful with money - I still remember getting banished from the dining room once a month so my Father could spread out all his receipts to work out where the money went; we used to have lengthy investigations if he couldn’t account for even a few pence! For those where money was less tight or whose parents were less careful, budgeting is not something that will necessarily come naturally.
The only people who will lose out from this are those offering financial products that are poor value for money, store cards and ‘premium’ current accounts for example. If they only taught one lesson it would be worthwhile - if your outgoings regularly equal or exceed your income you will, sooner or later, get into difficulty; do something about it now, not when it happens.
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