KNOWING how to save money and budget for the future is an essential skill set. Unfortunately, many adults have learned those skills the hard way – and they’re hoping that their children won’t repeat the same financial mistakes. A recent survey by OnePoll asked 2,000 Americans between the ages 18 and 41 about their financial […]
KNOWING how to save money and budget for the future is an essential skill set.
Unfortunately, many adults have learned those skills the hard way – and they’re hoping that their children won’t repeat the same financial mistakes.
A recent survey by OnePoll asked 2,000 Americans between the ages 18 and 41 about their financial habits, and how their high school and college years shaped their current financial outlooks.
Commissioned by TurboTax as part of the company’s Leading Con Educación program, the survey took special care to note half of its respondents identified as Latino.
Non-Latino respondents were much more likely to want their children to learn from and model their own money habits.
Compared to 76 percent of non-Latino respondents, only 51 percent of Latinos surveyed said they would want their children to make the same saving, investing, and budgeting decisions they did.
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Regardless of identity, respondents cited not saving money (45 percent), spending on things they don’t need (45 percent), and getting into debt without a plan (41 percent) as the top financial mistakes they wouldn’t want their kids to repeat.
Alejandra Molinari, Lead of TurboTax Latino Communications, said that helping students develop personal finance skills is vital, and something many parents didn’t have during their own early adulthoods.
“Providing bilingual educational content via webinars, articles, and tax simulations plus offering bilingual expertise can help Latino students to build the foundation they need for a brighter future,” Molinari said.
Forty-seven percent of respondents surveyed wished their high school had better taught them to manage their money as adults.
Latinos reported being less likely to talk to their parents about money than non-Latinos, and 50 percent said the lack of this conversation made it harder to figure out how to finance their education.
In addition, 35 percent of Latinos indicated that because they didn’t talk to their parents at an early age about how to manage their money, this resulted in having debt as an adult.
Topics like saving (35 percent vs 50 percent), investing (20 percent vs 35 percent), and budgeting (23 percent vs 34 percent) were found to be less prevalent in Latino households.
Overall, six in 10 U.S. adults said they faced peer pressure around spending money.
And more than half (52 percent) said their parents influenced their spending habits, much more so than friends (41 percent), classmates (26 percent), or celebrities (8 percent).
Another eight in 10 noted that earning their own money helped them learn how to make better spending decisions.
However, lacking a financial plan for continued education contributed to debt for nearly two-thirds of respondents.
About half said the career and college they chose were influenced by their level of financial literacy. Nine in 10 also said being financially literate helped them choose a better-paying career than they would have otherwise.
Only 21 percent of Latinos surveyed said they’ve completed a bachelor’s degree, compared to 37 percent of non-Latino respondents. And more than a quarter (26 percent) of Latinos said they were the first generation in their family to attend high school.
An additional poll found that 60 percent of Latinos said their lack of financial resources did not allow them to save money to complete a college education.
Four in 10 don’t plan to finish a bachelor’s degree, with 23 percent saying they are unable to afford college tuition and supplies.
Based on the survey, 71 percent of Latinos think financial support — such as scholarships or educational grants — from corporations is beneficial to propel the future of Latino students.
“In addition to schools, financial institutions can do their part in supporting Latino communities in pursuit of their education goals,” especially in regards to scholarships and grants, Molinari added.
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