Where you go to school, what clothes you wear, what phone you pick, how you might get around, where you live – in all of these, and so many more, money plays a crucial role. Worrying about money can affect your mental health and your relationships so learning how to take care of it is an essential life skill.
We are all in different financial positions, but it’s important to know that, whatever your current financial status, things can change and you should not allow your finances to stop you having big dreams for the future.
Understanding money, how to budget, where to get it, how to save it and what support is available to you is all very important. It’s called being financially capable, and you really need to be. Your school may well be supporting you with this (and the new school curriculum for Wales means that they will have to) and your foster carers are expected to help you manage your money. Financial capability should also be talked about in your pathway planning.
Getting started…
Here are some great resources to help you improve your financial capability:
Did you know?
Young people who are looked after continuously for more than one year have a long-term savings account opened on their behalf by the government (who put £200 into each account when it is opened). The Share Foundation looks after these accounts until a young person turns 18, when access and control of the account transfers to them.
The savings plan might be a Junior ISA or a Child Trust Fund, but either way some savings will be in place for you. How much money is saved and where that money comes from might vary, although in Wales many fostering services are working towards an agreed amount of savings per child.
Some fostering services take the savings directly from the allowance that foster carers receive, others contribute additional funds to help build the savings account for when a young person needs to access it. Foster carers and young people are encouraged to contribute to these accounts too.