In this week’s Rutherford Rede blog, we look at a recent article from the Sydney Morning Herald that draws attention to the deterioration of financial literacy across the Australian population.

The article summarises the results of the latest Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, of approximately 17,000 Australians, and finds that “no progress has been made on improving the financial literacy of the Australian population since 2016, and in fact, we have gone backward.”

Of the results, perhaps the most worrying was the subset of Australians aged 15 – 24, who demonstrated the biggest decline in financial literacy of all age groups since the previous survey in 2016.

“As a nation, we are simply failing to equip our children with the financial knowledge they need to navigate an increasingly complex world full of risks and temptations, like cryptocurrencies and buy-now, pay-later schemes.”

At Rutherford Rede, we recognise the importance of elevating financial literacy, especially for our youth.  To that end, if we can be of any assistance in this area, please have no hesitation to contact us.  We would be delighted to organise an in person seminar to help educate our younger New Zealanders on the basics of money.

Click here to read the full article.