Beyond the Numbers: How Social Perceptions Shape Our Financial Behaviour
At Make Sense of Pence, we spend a lot of time talking about money—not just how it works, but how we think it works. That might sound odd, especially since money is often framed as a black-and-white, numerical subject. But more and more, we’re realising that the decisions we make about money aren’t just logical—they’re deeply social.
Recently, during a session with older teenagers as part of our research for the Make Sense of Pence Rangers programme, I posed a familiar question:
“How do we get money?”
The answers started off creatively—donations, GoFundMe pages—avenues we don’t usually hear from younger children. Then one participant casually said, “You could ask for money on the street,” which prompted a quick response from her mum:
“What, so you’re just going to turn into a beggar?”
It was a jarring moment—but one that stuck with me. Because where exactly is the line? How different is a GoFundMe page from asking for help on the street? Why is one socially acceptable, even admirable, and the other frowned upon?
Cardboard Signs and Church Envelopes
The very next day, I went to church. Outside, a cardboard sign explained how much money was needed to keep the doors open. Inside, almost everyone gave—no questions asked.
Again, I thought of those on the street with their own cardboard signs. The setting changes, but the message is the same: we need support. Yet we view one as community and charity, the other as discomfort and avoidance.
There’s no blame in this observation, only curiosity. How have our social constructs shaped our ideas of what is an “acceptable” way to ask for help?
The Morality of Money: Gambling vs. Investing
The same questions apply when we think about how we spend money—or how we try to grow it.
In one of our workshops, a child suggested gambling as a way to get money. A teacher quickly jumped in:
“That’s not a good way to get money.”
But here’s the thing: it is a way. And what’s more, many adults buy lottery tickets every week without blinking. The difference? One is seen as harmless fun. The other? A dangerous habit. Yet both sit on the same continuum of risk.
On one end of that spectrum is the village tombola or school raffle—a flutter of excitement in exchange for a pound coin. On the other end: investing in stocks and shares, held up as a smart and mature financial move. But both rely on risk. Both depend on unpredictable outcomes. So why do we treat them so differently?
Again, the answer lies in perception.
Why This Matters in Financial Education
This is why we argue that financial education can’t just live in maths lessons. Yes, we need to teach budgets and interest rates, savings goals and balancing books. But beneath those numbers are choices, and beneath those choices are values, influences, and biases.
- Where we grow up.
- What we hear at home.
- What’s considered “normal” in our community.
- What’s praised. What’s shamed.
All of these shape how we interact with money. They shape whether a young person feels empowered to ask for help, ashamed to take a risk, or afraid to invest in themselves.
So if we want to teach young people how to be financially responsible, we must first understand what they’re already learning. Not from textbooks—but from the world around them.
This isn’t about declaring what’s right or wrong. It’s about recognising that money is not just maths. It’s sociology. It’s psychology. It’s identity.
And it’s high time we started treating it that way.