Why bother with financial maths?
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Financial maths is essential for everyday tasks |
Financial maths is fundamental to activities people perform everyday, such as: buying food, paying the bills, paying tax, buying foreign currency or tickets for holidays, buying insurance, saving money, borrowing money, budgeting, comparing competing offers at the shop. The list is endless.
Research by UCL and Cambridge universities in 2018 found around one in three adults could not correctly answer the following questions:
Four-in-ten adults in England and Northern Ireland could not correctly apply a simple discount to an everyday household product they might buy when shopping.
Professor John Jerrim of UCL said: "This new research highlights how England is facing a crisis in terms of adults' financial literacy skills. We all need to be able to conduct basic financial calculations in order to make rational well-informed decisions."
The findings also highlight how financial skills are unequally distributed amongst the population. In most countries, men have slightly stronger financial skills than women, while the over-55s were typically the worst performing age group.
"Worryingly, 16-to-24 year-olds in England and Northern Ireland performed particularly poorly on the financial test, compared to young people of the same age in other developed countries," added Professor Jerrim.
Research by UCL and Cambridge universities in 2018 found around one in three adults could not correctly answer the following questions:
- Suppose, upon your trip to the grocery store you purchase four types of tea packs: Chamomile Tea (£4.60), Green Tea (£4.15), Black Tea (£3.35) and Lemon Tea (£1.80). If you paid for all these items with a £20 note, how much change would you get?
- Suppose, a litre of cola costs $3.15. If you buy one-third of a litre of cola, how much will you pay?
Four-in-ten adults in England and Northern Ireland could not correctly apply a simple discount to an everyday household product they might buy when shopping.
Professor John Jerrim of UCL said: "This new research highlights how England is facing a crisis in terms of adults' financial literacy skills. We all need to be able to conduct basic financial calculations in order to make rational well-informed decisions."
The findings also highlight how financial skills are unequally distributed amongst the population. In most countries, men have slightly stronger financial skills than women, while the over-55s were typically the worst performing age group.
"Worryingly, 16-to-24 year-olds in England and Northern Ireland performed particularly poorly on the financial test, compared to young people of the same age in other developed countries," added Professor Jerrim.
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Answer the two financial maths questions above and state your answers in the Comments box opposite.
When you're ready, enter your name and email address, then press the Submit button to send your answers. Image credit: 'Money and Calculator' by Images Money via Flickr |