Parents think kids should save early
Published On 26 October 2006
As the importance of savings dominates the headlines parents are urging their children to start putting money away as early as possible.New research from Bradford & Bingley shows that 55 per cent of adults think children should start saving before the age of ten to help them understand the value of money.
And one in three believe children should have saved £2,000 or more by the time they reach the age of 18 in order to purchase a car or contribute to university costs.
Steve Potter, head of savings at Bradford & Bingley, said: "If this trend of parents expecting their children to save rather than parents bailing them out continues then the bank of Mum and Dad will be hanging up the 'closed' sign in two generations time.
"This makes it all the more important for parents to encourage their children to save from birth," he stressed.
The research also shows that younger parents are stricter than their older counterparts when it comes to saving money. Indeed 54 per cent of parents in the 25-34 age group said they expect their children to save for further education or a deposit on their first home compared to just 29 per cent in the 45-54 age group.
Bradford & Bingley says that as people in their 40s and 50s seem to be better off today than those in their 20s and 30s thanks to final salary pension schemes and large capital growth in their homes, they may feel they are in a better position to help out their children financially.
In contrast, the latest In-Debt Index shows that debt problems among people aged 20 to 30 have risen significantly in the last year, with increasing numbers taking out individual voluntary arrangements with their banks.
This means they are less able to help out their children when it comes to money and may be more inclined to instil in them the importance of saving early so they do not make the same mistakes.
