One in four six year olds believe £10 would be enough money to pay for everything they ever needed in life!
A child’s view and value of money is, according to a tongue in cheek study done by Legal & General Investments, an important starting point for their financial future as well as giving aninsight into the charming naivety of children.
To find out what children thought about finance, a poll of almost 200 six years olds was taken, looking into some of the financial considerations we have to deal with such as the cost of your first house, where more than half the children thought that it would probably set them back around £10,000 or less. Interestingly, the six year olds also thought their salary would be a very small sum, only £100 a year. Giving 20% of that salary per year to pay off their mortgages, it would take them approximately 500 years to pay off their mortgage, not including interest.
Luckily when the study asked children to look at pocket money they were a lot less demanding. With unlimited pocket money as the question, the six year olds said they would opt for £20 a week, coming to £1,000 a year. Possibly some of the children would be able to pay off their mortgages a bit quicker using their pocket money instead!
Other findings from the data include:
-Four in five (80%) six year olds think they will own a house before they are 25
-One in four (25%) six year olds believe £10 would be enough money to pay for everything they needed in life
-One in four (25%) six year olds expect to own their first car at the tender age of 12
-Over a quarter (27%) of children believe money makes the world go round
-One in five (19%) think money exists so they can buy sweets
-One in five (19%) think money exists solely to allow their family to go on holiday
Teaching future generations to be ‘moneywise’ is a way of ensuring children get the fundamental skills that will help them to mature into young adults.
The research accompanies the launch of the Legal & General Investments Finance is Child’s Playvideo which gives a little bit of an insight of the world through the eyes of a six year old.
Simon Ellis, managing director from Legal & General Investments said “opening a Junior ISA is a first step in preparing them to take control of their future finances. By teaching children the basics of managing savings, we pass on fundamental skills that will help them to mature into young adults.”
The new Legal & General Junior ISA which runs alongside the Child Trust Fund, provides parents, family and friends with an attractive and tax efficient way of saving for eligible children up to a maximum annual allowance, which is currently £3,600.
For more information visit legalandgeneral.com/investments/isas/junior-isa
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