To coincide with Global Money Week and its theme “build your future, be smart about money”, ASIC has released its new Get Moneysmart website.
This new resource, which is targeted at young people entering the workforce, is designed to help them deepen their understanding of key money concepts and behaviour and learn to better manage their money.
The website has been developed off the back of a 2021 survey conducted by ASIC, in which 3,000 Australians between the ages of 15-21 were asked their opinions on a range of money matters. Some of the key findings included:
- 51% of respondents often feel stressed about money
- 54% want to learn how to manage money well and not waste it
- 22% experienced a situation where they didn’t understand what something would cost them until it was too late
- 62% said they think it’s important to build up their superannuation while they are young.
With young people priced out of financial advice, the Get MoneySmart educational tool seeks to address that gap and includes videos, calculators and questionnaires to help young people get to the heart of their financial situation and learn to make more informed decisions about their money.
The tool covers a range of topics including how to read a payslip, choosing a bank account, maximising savings, understanding loans and more. It also speaks to contemporary topics such as buy now/pay later services and cryptocurrency.
In developing the resource, ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes noted that young Australians are “active consumers with multifaceted financial lives” who are making a lot of financial decisions as they leave school and enter the workforce.
…it is hard to fathom why such a fundamental competency as managing money is left to chance…
Dr Phil Lambert, Chair of the ASIC expert group, confirmed the importance of the new resource: “…it is hard to fathom why such a fundamental competency as managing money is left to chance, rarely discussed in a young person’s life journey and where responsibility is shared by many but rests heavily on the individual to stride confidently, tread cautiously or wander aimlessly along the way”.
Click the image below to access the new Get Moneysmart resource for young Australians:
