A leading Midlands accountancy firm is urging everyone in the region to invest in financial education amid rising inflation rates and the cost of living crisis.
Kevin Johns, managing director at Prime Accountants Group, which has offices in Solihull, Birmingham and Coventry, said the ongoing economic crisis has made financial literacy education, from kindergarteners to senior citizens, more important than ever.
He said much of the population hasn’t seen inflation like this since the early 1990s and with rates set to rise in the short term , everyone needs to take the initiative to educate themselves on the intricacies of their finances to help them better manage their income.
Kevin said financial education needs to be “hard-coded” into society and should start from a very young age at school, as it can exacerbate socio-economic problems if this doesn’t happen.
Kevin said: “The Covid-19 pandemic brought many harsh realities to light, one of which was the lack of financial education among the general population today.
“Alongside this, there has been a boom in young people signing up to investing platforms – historically low interest rates, high inflation rates, volatile markets and a pandemic-inspired desire for financial resilience have driven this trading trend.
“It’s the lack of adequate financial knowledge that has led countless individuals to invest in quick win platforms and unregulated industries like cryptocurrencies without fully understanding the risks. In reality, we always recommend that you invest in such platforms with money you can only afford to lose – something which is quite rare in today’s economy!
“With an investing landscape filled with jargon and other complexities and social media scams adding new challenges, improving financial literacy is crucial. Once people understand their own budgeting, they will be more aware of how much they are able to risk.”
Kevin said the industry as it stands isn’t set up to give full financial advice to someone investing in small amounts and urged everyone to go online to useful websites to really understand the ‘ins and outs’ of their own finances and potential investing.
“Financially-literate individuals will be able to make the call of how much they can set aside for the future in pensions perhaps, how much they need to spend on now and how much they are able to risk in investing,” added Kevin.
“Financial education will not just create a pool of better investors but help set up young people for long-term success.”
