Have We Been Framing the Problem All Wrong?
At Make Sense of Pence, we’ve always championed the importance of financial education for children. We’ve talked about saving, budgeting, and being confident with money. And while those things matter hugely, there’s something we need to admit: maybe we haven’t framed the problem hard enough.
Because the truth is, money isn’t just about pounds and pence. It’s about people. And when people don’t understand or can’t manage their money, the consequences are devastating — for them, for their families, and for the next generation.
The Problem We Don’t Talk About Enough
For years, financial education has been treated as a “nice-to-have.” Something useful, yes, but perhaps not urgent. Yet the data tells a different story:
Adults in serious debt are three times more likely to consider suicide. Every year, more than 100,000 people in England attempt suicide while in problem debt.
Money worries are the number one source of relationship strain in the UK, above communication, work-life balance, or intimacy.
After separation, household income — especially for women and children — can fall by as much as 50% in a single year.
Millions of adults are behind on basic household bills, with little or no savings to fall back on.
These aren’t just financial problems. They’re human problems. They show up in mental health services, in family courts, in children’s lives.
The Ripple Effect on Children
Children don’t live in isolation from these problems. When money stress builds in the home, children see it, hear it, and feel it. Research shows that 1 in 10 children in the UK live in families reporting high levels of parental conflict, much of it financially driven.
That conflict affects children’s mental health, behaviour, and educational outcomes. And unless we step in, many of them will carry the same struggles into adulthood.
We can’t afford to think of financial education as “just another subject.” It’s more than that — it’s prevention.
It prevents crisis debt.
It prevents relationship breakdown.
It prevents mental health struggles linked to financial stress.
It prevents the cycle of disadvantage passing from parents to children.
In other words: money skills are life skills.
Our Commitment Going Forward
So, as we step into the next phase of our work, we’re going to start talking more openly about these deeper links. Not to shock or scare, but to make sure the scale of the problem is understood. Because only then will the solution — teaching children early — get the attention it deserves.
We’ll be sharing new articles, stats, and resources over the coming weeks that shine a brighter light on the problem and, more importantly, the solution. We’d love for you to be part of that conversation.
We haven’t always framed the problem as clearly as we should have. But now we will. Because financial education isn’t just about maths or money — it’s about protecting futures, families, and lives.
Let’s start telling the whole story.