Credit literacy of young adults
In the course of our lives, we are repeatedly confronted with financial bottlenecks. Especially in younger years, it is not possible to fall back on savings for larger expenditures such as the purchase of real estate, investments in education or even consumer goods. A loan makes it possible to actively shape one's life. Over-indebtedness, on the other hand, can threaten personal sovereignty. Financial education is the cornerstone for making informed decisions, weighing up credit alternatives and assessing the consequences.
Research project
The iff Overindebtedness Report 2022 shows for Germany that for 18.6 percent of those seeking advice in debt counseling centers, the overindebtedness situations in 2021 could have been avoided.
The main causes are:
- misguided consumer behavior,
- lack of financial education
- or inefficient household management.
According to a survey conducted in 2022, young people (16- to 25-year-olds) rate their financial knowledge as only 3.3 on a school grade scale of 1 (very good) to 6 (insufficient). When it comes to dealing with loans, they even give themselves only adequate (4.1).
Podcast: Finance & Feelings
Do we have sufficient credit literacy - and what does that actually mean?
Hanne Roggemann, one of the researchers, talks about the results of the study and how important financial education is in the Spotify podcast.
Publications
Contact
About the research project
Participating scientists:
- Dr. Hanne Roggemann (Project Management),
- Prof. Dr. Ingrid Größl,
- Dr. Sally Peters,
- Dr. Duygu Damar,
- Dr. Helena Klinger all iff - institut für finanzdienstleistungen e.V.
Duration: November 2021 to February 2023