How a Nottingham teen mastered money after one life-changing course
Jasmine Amadori is at school hoping for the grades she needs to secure a place at the University of Birmingham to study sports science. Unlike her peers, the 18-year-old from Nottingham is depositing hundreds of pounds a month she gets as an allowance from her parents into a simple investment account to save up for a house and a car in the future. But she says she didn't know the difference between savings and investing before she went on a financial education course at her local youth club.
NatWest say it is now investing more into these classes, which have reached over a million young people across the UK. Almost 70 per cent of young people say investing was never discussed at home growing up.
These financial lessons aim to teach the next generation about core money skills such as saving, budgeting and managing money day-to-day while also helping young people to understand how investing works.
'The sessions were really helpful because I didn't really know the difference between saving and investment - I thought it was the same thing,' Jasmine tells This is Money. 'It made me understand that saving is for the short term and investment is for the long term.'
Children and young adults are taught vital money skills through discussions and games. As part of the session, they invest an imaginary £1,000 in the 'stock market' and see how they react to imaginary market conditions. They are also taught about investment scams and the classes conclude with a personalised action plan for each person's finances.
Jasmine is hoping to save up enough money to help with the costs of university as she doesn't want to rely entirely on her student loans. And instead of buying a 'fast car' with her investments, Jasmine hopes to put her money towards helping homeless children.
'I still see some people around me that say that they don't care about [their finances]. They think that they'll just rely on student finance or their parents,' says Jasmine. 'But my mum tells me not to listen to that, because you can rely on that, but sometimes, you may want your own things as well, and maybe the student finance can't cover that, so you're going to need something on the side to make sure you can get what you want too.'
More than half of people in Britain think that they would have been more likely to invest if they had received financial education before the age of 18, according to a survey of 5,000 people by NatWest
Financial literacy will become a compulsory subject for all primary and secondary schools in England from 2028.
Adam Breen, who leads NatWest's Thrive programme to help teach children about money, says: 'They're not only learning kind of essential skills, but we're also actually exploring in a really cool environment, like with their friends, where they can talk and they can learn from from their peer.
'They might think, "how do I budget, how do I save, but actually, what do I want to save for? Why do I want to save?" And then learning how and the best sort of tips and tricks.'
Mr Breen adds that the lessons help to give people from all walks of life financial advice that they may not have received otherwise.
'These skills are for everyone. They're not just for rich people. They're not just for people of certain kind of background. They've got a right and they've got a real thirst to learn,' says Mr Breen.
'One big reflection from a recent lesson is that young people are coming to me and saying "I didn't think this was for me but actually what I've learnt is that it is for me".'
Solange Chamberlain, chief executive of NatWest's retail bank, says: 'Financial confidence doesn't just benefit individuals; it's vital for the long-term growth the UK needs.
'Young people are navigating an increasingly complex world, now more than ever, yet many reach adulthood without the confidence or understanding to make informed financial choices.'
