Parents Not The Source For Financial Education, Study Finds

MCLEAN, Va. – Although almost 90% of students say they rely on their parents for financial advice and counseling on how to spend wisely, more than 70% report that their parents have not offered guidance on managing their financial lives while away at college, according to a survey sponsored by Capital One, a credit card issuing bank based in McLean, Virginia. According to Capital One’s survey of back to school spending, 98% of college students and 90% of high school students say they have learned about money management through their own experiences with money. Additionally, 53% of collegians and 43% of high school students claim to have learned something about money management through talking with friends. “Despite looking to their families for general money management advice, most young adults `learn as they go’ when it comes to handling personal finances,” said Diana Don, director of financial education for Capital One. “Without ongoing parental guidance and check-ins about money matters, young adults are setting themselves up for missteps that can lead to bad financial habits.” Researchers working for Capitol One surveyed 1000 student nationwide, 250 each from middle school, high school and college or university with another 250 spread among those three groups. The researchers queried American families to find out how much they spend on back to school shopping, which person pays the bill, how they pay for it. According to the research, 56% of students across all the age groups plan to kick money into their family’s expenses tied to getting them back to school. Surveyed parents, on average, will spend $282 on their students’ school supplies with students kicking in an average range of $28 from middle school students to $59 from high school students and $279 from college students. More than 70% of students said they will earn their money through part-time or occasional jobs, with 30% of teenagers reporting that they have a regular part-time or even full-time job to earn money. Significantly, despite a widespread reputation for materialism, 70% of college and high school students reported that they would keep their school supplies to the “basic supplies” they need. On average, college students and their families reported they will take three months to pay off their bills for back to school supplies.