“The high level of financial literacy among young people in Finland is strongly linked to the good academic performance assessed by the respondents themselves,” says Katariina Salmela-Aro, Academy Professor at the University of Helsinki.
Parental education and the respondents' self-assessed childhood home wealth have a connection with school success. Therefore, financial literacy is also linked to the wealth experienced at home and to the education of parents, according to the recent A better tomorrow – Young peoples’ financial literacy barometer study.
According to the study, the financial situation experienced among young people is also connected to consumption habits. Consumption and material orientation in the attitudes of young people is somewhat more typical for young people who consider themselves disadvantaged, while environmental awareness and thriftiness are more typical for young people who consider their financial situation to be good and who report that their parents are highly educated.
“Low income may lead young people to imagine that consumption and items such as branded products will make them happier and help them enter their desired social groups. For young people from middle- and upper-income families, this pressure may not be as great,” says Terhi-Anna Wilska, a professor of sociology at the University of Jyväskylä.
“Not all young people are on the same track in terms of developing their finances. For this reason, it is important to make financial education and training accessible to young people from different backgrounds and to target financial literacy education appropriately. This requires the cooperation of households, schools and other societal actors,” says Wilska.
The majority of young people are not worried about their management of finances. The young people who report feeling anxious also often feel that their financial situation is poor, and they also discuss their poor financial situation at home. Girls are more worried about their finances than boys.
Typically, households do not discuss finances daily or even weekly, but rather monthly. The study indicated that young people speak with their guardians the most about matters related to their and their families’ use of money.
Over a quarter of young people receive financial information from social media influencers
Young people receive the most financial information from their family (60%) and school (36%). What is interesting about the results is that social media influencers are the third most common source of learning financial literacy.
“According to previous studies, social media influencers play a major role in young people's consumption and use of money, as well as attitudes in general. For this reason, the utilisation of these should be increased in financial education and teaching,” says Wilska.
The attitude of young people toward debt is sound. For example, young people were strongly opposed to the use of short-term credit. Attitudes towards mortgages are the most positive, with more than half of young people confident that they will take out a mortgage in the future. Young people from middle-income and affluent families were more willing to take out a mortgage than young people from less affluent families.
Correspondingly, those who consider their families to be poorer are more likely than others to believe that they will live on rent in the future.
“The result suggests that the perceived wealth of one’s home affects young people's future expectations, i.e. what is generally considered to be possible,” believes Wilska.
Valuable information to support financial literacy work
The barometer study published by OP Financial Group together with the Universities of Helsinki and Jyväskylä is the first of its kind in Finland. The national study inspected the management of finances, financial literacy skills and situation and the related behaviour and attitudes among young people aged 15–19. The results will be used extensively in the development of the OP Financial Group's financial literacy work and educational activities, as well as its own financial management services.
“Good financial literacy is a civic competence. Its improvement and maintenance, especially among young people, is a common task between all adults. It is particularly important and fruitful to combine the expertise of different actors. The pioneering survey helps us better understand young people's situation and develop our financial skills education," says Hannakaisa Länsisalmi, Chief People and Culture Officer of OP Financial Group.
“The study is unique in Finland and its results can be used by schools, families, decision-makers and the financial sector. The aim is to repeat the barometer study at regular intervals in order to show trends in young people's financial literacy,” says Salmela-Aro.
Personal money management is an important life skill, and the skills we learn while young provide a solid foundation far into adulthood. The cornerstone of OP Financial Group’s financial literacy work consists of visits by OP cooperative bank representatives to schools and educational institutions throughout Finland. In 2023, OP Financial Group contacted around 90,000 children and young people through its financial literacy work in cooperation with OP cooperative banks and partners. OP is involved in promoting the national financial literacy strategy together with actors from different sectors. The aim of the strategy is to make Finns the best financial experts in the world by 2030. OP Financial Group and the University of Helsinki have also signed a partnership agreement for years 2024–2029. The goal of the closer cooperation includes strengthening the financial literacy of young people and to support OP Financial Group's financial literacy work with scientific means.
A total of 72 schools across Finland participated in the barometer survey. The survey had a total of 2,143 participants, of whom 1,886 responded to the survey.
Media enquiries:
OP Financial Group Communications, tel. 010 252 8719, viestinta@op.fi