Half of Australians wish home buying was on the curriculum

According to the research, the vast majority of respondents (73 per cent) said they wished that they had been taught financial literacy skills while in school.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said they wished they had learned how to save money effectively, with a similar proportion stating that they would have liked to learn how to live on a budget.

More than half also regretted that they weren’t taught how to manage cash flow (53 per cent), with just under half stating they wished that they had learnt how the property market works (for example, applying for a mortgage, buying a home, investment properties etc).

A smaller proportion also suggested that they would have liked to have been taught more about tax (49 per cent), how credit cards work (38 per cent) and how the sharemarket works (33 per cent).

When asked what the pain points of dealing with finances were, the largest proportion of respondents cited paying for household bills (54 per cent), followed by paying for rent or a mortgage (48 per cent) and paying council rates (44 per cent).

However, only a small proportion of respondents (18 per cent) stated that they are currently turning to financial advisers or other professionals for financial literacy or budgeting help. 

Instead, the vast majority turn to their parents (31 per cent), friends (24 per cent), online – via blogs or websites (22 per cent).

Around half of those aged 54 and over said they would turn to family and friends for financial advice; however, the younger cohorts were less likely to do so, the survey found.

Only 45 per cent of those under the age of 35 said they regard their parents as financial role models and almost a third (31 per cent) stated that they act differently with their money than their parents. 

A fifth of respondents said they don’t get financial advice from any quarter, while 10 per cent said they turned to podcasts for help. This rose to 19 per cent for younger Australians. 

Speaking of the figures, Openpay CEO Michael Eidel stated: “Young Australians face very different career paths and economic challenges than their parents, but they also have different expectations for how they should be able to manage their financial activities. 

“The rise in BNPL services is an example of how younger consumers are changing the market, as they demand smarter, autonomous ways to manage their financial responsibilities,” he concluded.

[Related: Why this broker began a women’s financial literacy program]