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Survey reveals the influence of Mums on money habits

Mum Knows Best

Britons’ money habits are most influenced by their mothers

  • 36% of Brits say that their mothers have had the most influence on the way
    they handle their money
  • We are twice as likely to consult Mum than Dad on our daily spending
  • More than half of people say their father took control of their household
    finances when they were growing up

New research from M&S Money reveals that our mothers are the biggest
influences on our financial habits.

M&S Money surveyed 1000 people to find out about how their family has
influenced their finances. The research reveals that 36% say that their mothers
have had the most influence on the way they handle their money, compared to 32%
who say it is their fathers.

Grandparents (3%) and siblings (1%) have little influence while 24% say their
family have no influence over their financial habits at all. It seems we also
follow our own gender as a role model; women are most likely to say it is their
mother that has most affected their financial habits (39%) while men are most
likely to say that it is their father (36%)

When it comes to their daily spending, more than twice the number of people
would consult Mum for her point of view instead of Dad. 22% would ask their
mother about their day to day finances, while just 8% would consult their father
on matters such as shopping or saving. Indeed, 6 in 10 people say they are not
like their fathers at all when it comes to their finances.

It is only when the stakes are high that we turn to our Dads for occasional
advice. When making large financial decisions such as buying a house or a car,
one in five (20%) would turn to their father for advice compared to 11% who
would ask their mothers.

Despite more people saying their Mum has been the biggest influence on their
money habits, more than half (55%) of people say their father took control of
their household finances while they were growing up, while for 40% it was their
mother.

Colin Kersley, Chief Executive of M&S Money, said:

“While it may not always have been our mothers who controlled large financial
decisions and the overall household budget when we were growing up, it seems
they are now the ones who we are most likely to turn to for advice on day to day
matters such as saving and spending.

“Our fathers do still have a clear role in being first point of call for
advice on bigger purchases. It is great that we see the value of both parents in
helping us through the many different financial decisions we face on a daily
basis such as choosing the best home for our hard earned cash.”

Table 1: How our family has influenced our finances

Dad Mum Grandparents Sibling
Took responsibility for household finances 55% 40% 3%
Has most affected my financial habits 32% 36% 5% 1%
Would consult on large financial issue 20% 11% 2% 7%
Would consult on small financial matter 8% 22% 1% 8%
Least likely to take financial advice from 12% 12% 5% 24%

Regional Findings

  • Mums are the biggest financial influencers of all regions except for the
    West Midlands (42%), North West (39%) and South West (29%) where Dad’s are the
    biggest influences.
  • Scotland is the only region where more people say that their mother (51%)
    took responsibility for household finances when they were growing up rather than
    their father (47%).
  • The West Midlands is the only region where people are more likely to say
    they are like their father when it comes to financial matters than they are not
    (52%).
  • Scots are the only people in the UK who are more likely to ask their father
    (14%) than their mother (9%) for advice on their day to day spending.

Financial Literacy in Schools

Thanks to the staff and pupils at Glanhowy Primary School in Wales, here is a video of their presentation showing how The Financial Fairy Tales stories were used with a year 2 class (approx 6 years old).

Primary / Elementary schools interested in teaching their pupils about money in a fun and interesting way can download free sample materials at www.thefinancialfairytales.com/schools

SURVEY SHOWS BRITISH TEENS’ DREAM OF A WEALTHY FUTURE

A new survey from RBS shows that British teens have an increasingly optimistic view of their financial future, which is not firmly grounded in reality. The MoneySense Panel Research Findings for 2010, based on responses from 12,000 British young people, indicate that:

• By the age of 35, today’s teens expect to earn an average of £61,700, compared to the national average of around £24,333 for people in their thirties.
• 53 per cent of young people expect to be able to buy their first home by the age of 25, but in the last five years less than 20 per cent of first-time buyers were under 25.
• Fewer teens are earning their own money, whilst more worry about their finances and anticipate debt in the future.

Now in the fourth year of a five year study, the findings from previous surveys (2007-2010) of more than 40,000 students have revealed some encouraging news. The results indicate a change in attitudes, behaviours and beliefs about money among British teenagers, suggesting that financial literacy is improving.

• 65 per cent of teens surveyed say they are more money savvy than they were 12 months ago.
• The number of teens not monitoring their money halved from 20 per cent in 2007 to 10 per cent in 2010.
• Over 82 per cent of the young people asked said they learnt about money at home or school in the last year, and two thirds of them talked to their parents about household finances.

The findings reveal some unrealistic expectations around future earnings and levels of debt. For example reagrding student debt 59% either didn’t know or expected their student debt to be below £20,000 after graduation. The expected average is nearer £25,000 for courses started in 2010.

When it comes to buying their first home 53% expected to be able to by the age of 25 with 82% by the age of 30.
In 2009 the average age of a first time buyer was 31.

The Fascinating Stories Behind Your Favorite Fairy Tales

It’s a little disconcerting to know that the real stories behind the fairy tales that made your eyes go all sparkly as a child were originally tales of dark deeds, self-injury and forced abandonment. But the inspiration behind these stories simply resonated more clearly and relevantly with audiences at the time they were created, and have since been adapted to please our morals and desire for happy endings today. Whether you’re a literature student or just interested in “real-life” accounts behind fictional tales, here are the fascinating histories behind your favorite fairy tales from MatchaCollege.com

The Brothers Grimm adapted existing — darker — folk tales: Many of our favorite fairy tales are actually adapted folk tales that the Brothers Grimm re-appropriated from their Germanic neighbors and surrounding communities. Most of us know now that the Grimm’s tales were much darker and more sinister than our versions today, but even their stories were lighter than many of the original tales that had been passed down before them.

Snow White: A German scholar named Eckhard Sander published in 1994 his theory that the Grimm’s tale of Snow White was based on the real-life story of a countess named Margarete von Waldeck, who lived in the early 16th century. Raised in a mining town run by her brother, Margarete would have been surrounded by children who worked in the mines — and who became stunted because of their hard work and malnutrition. People in the town at that time referred to the miners as “dwarves,” which, along with a real criminal who at that time was suspected of handing out poison apples to children, backs up Sander’s theory. And when Margarete was 16, she was sent away to Brussels, where she fell in love with the future Philip II of Spain, much to the fury of her stepmother. Sander and his fellow scholars believe her stepmother and Philip’s father hatched a plot to poison her.

Alice in Wonderland: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was written by Charles Dodgson, who wrote under the name Lewis Carroll. Though it hasn’t been proven exactly, many scholars believe that Dodgson came up with the story after spending time with a friend’s three young daughters, Lorina, Edith and Alice Liddell. Supposedly Dodgson told the girls a story to keep them entertained, and afterward, Alice asked him to write it down for her. Once he started writing, Dodgson realized the story had potential and completed an entire manuscript called Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, and which he had published after giving the original to little Alice Liddell. Other scholars believe Alice’s father and other real-life people could be inspirations for the story’s main characters, including the White Rabbit.

The Frog Prince: Today’s version of “The Frog Prince” may make young children squirm when they hear about the princess puckering up for a kiss with a frog, but the real version is much bleaker. The story, included in the Grimm brothers’ first collection of fairy tales, instead tells of a princess who hurls the frog against a wall, a traditional act from old folk tales to inspire shapeshifting.

Cinderella: The Brothers Grimm published their version of Cinderella in 1884, and as upsetting as the poor girl’s slavery is even today, their version is much bloodier. During the party scene, Cinderella wishes to leave after dancing with the Prince, but the Prince won’t have it. He “had caused the whole staircase to be smeared with pitch, and there, when she ran down, had the maiden’s left slipper remained sticking.” The next day, the magician/prince goes to look for the slipper’s owner, and after Cinderella’s stepsister’s feet are proven too big, their mother — Cinderella’s wicked stepmother — forces her to slice off her heel with a knife. She does, and “forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King’s son. He took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her,” until little pigeons adorably cooed that blood was filling up the shoe, staining the stepsister’s white stocking. After this graphic scene, the prince goes back and finds Cinderella.

Little Red Riding Hood: Called Little Red Cap by the Brothers Grimm and Little Red Hat in an Italian and Austrian fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood got the name we know her by today from the folk tale writer Charles Perrault. In his story, once Little Red Riding Hood figures out the wolf is hiding in her grandmother’s bed, the “wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.” Not much of a Disney ending, there.

Sleeping Beauty: One of the more shocking histories behind fairy tales is Sleeping Beauty’s. The Charles Perrault-penned story — published in 1697 — involves a king’s daughter named Talia, who (despite a warning from wise men) pricks her finger with a poison splinter and dies. Her father left her body in the palace and moved away, but a prince found Talia one day, had sex with her dead body, and impregnated her. Somehow, Talia was able to develop the fetuses and give birth to twins, who were then cared for by fairies. And one magical day, her son sucked her poison-pricked finger, and she came back to life. Of course the prince — who was actually married to someone else — returned, but his wife learned of his affair, and ordered Talia’s twins captured and cooked for supper. The cook couldn’t bear to kill the children, and when the wife found out, she tried to burn Talia at the stake. The prince saved her in the end.

Hansel and Gretel: There are many different versions of Hansel and Gretel (originally called Little Brother and Little Sister,) but one of the most surprising real-life histories behind the tale is the reason the siblings’ parents abandoned them in the first place. Now, the story blames an evil stepmother for banishing the children to the woods, as audiences today can’t imagine a birth mother abandoning her children. But during the time when the original folk tale was created, parents apparently used to abandon their kids semi-frequently, most likely in the story’s case because of famine.

Financial Benefits of a University Degree

Student debt levels are projected to rise to £25,000 for those starting university this year, research suggests.
So is going to University a ‘good’ investment in pure financial terms?

Official figures from the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey reveal that over the last decade university graduates have earned on average £12,000 a year more than those without a degree.

Average salaries for graduates aged 22-64 stood at £30,000, compared with £18,000 for non-graduates.

Interestingly the gap between graduate and non-graduate salaries takes time to show itself – earnings for 22-year-olds were around £15,000 regardless of whether they had a degree or not.

Non-graduate earnings increased every year until the age of 30 before leveling off and peaking at £19,400 at age 34.
Graduates saw their salaries increase faster and over a longer period – leveling off at age 35 and peaking at £34,500 age 51.

ONS statistician Jamie Jenkins explained: ‘We see a big difference based on age, with graduates’ earnings not peaking until they are in their early 50s. After this age, average wages decreased, as the higher earners leave the labour market earlier.
‘The statistics also reveal that gender differences are present in both graduate and non-graduate salaries. While male graduates could expect to earn 20 per cent more than their female peers, men without a degree made 23 per cent more than their female counterparts.

Let’s simplify things by taking a look at 2 career paths.

Graduate
Enters the workforce at 22 and retires at 64
Earns an average of £30,000 over those 42 years for a total of £1.26m. Take off the £25,000 student debt to finish with £1,235,000

Non Graduate
Enters the workforce at 18 retires at 64
Earn an average of £18,000 over 46 years for a total of £828,000

Which shows on average a graduate will earn on average an additional £407,000 over their working lives.

Of course there are a number of other factors, such as vocation, academic ability and the availability of funds up front for study. These figures are also averages, there are some very notable exceptions who dropped out of university and did very well financially, for instance, Bill Gates and Sir Richard Branson.