Young people face the “game of life” without knowing how to manage their money, a Conservative MP has said.
Peter Bedford proposed a new law which would compel primary schools and further-education colleges to teach their students financial skills, amid fears online shoppers fall prey to “marketing wizards” instead of saving up.
Introducing the Financial Education Bill using the Ten Minute Rule process, Mr Bedford told the Commons: “We are collectively creating the greatest financial crisis of our time.
“The problem, quite simply, is that we as a nation are not living within our means.
“There was once a sense that people had certain financial responsibilities – to save for a house, to save for retirement, to save for holidays or for a ‘rainy day’ – but no more.”
“And in a single click, we are committed and plunged further into the red.”
Mr Bedford told MPs that the solution “doesn’t require extra resource, just extra creativity”, as he said money has become “synonymous with anxiety”.
He referred to a government drive more than a decade ago to…
