Worried kids are ‘good sign for debt awareness’

Ben Yearsley, investment manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, claims that with debt levels continuing their upward trend around the country, concern from young people might ultimately mean they steer clear of bankruptcy and should be seen as a “good sign”.

The research released yesterday, which was carried out by the Personal Finance Education Group, demonstrated that as much as a quarter of children under the age of 18 rack up credit card debt and expect their parents to pay the resultant bills.

Mr Yearsley said: “It is not surprising that young teenagers are worried about it. I think it is a good sign that they are because it shows that they are thinking about it.”

“When they actually get to a situation like university or credit cards they might have a slightly better understanding of what the problems and pitfalls are and not just fall headfirst into it.”

Founded in 1981, Hargreaves Lansdown is an asset management company with around £7.6 billion pounds worth of invested funds under its management.