Your money, your life: Lived experiences of young people’s borrowing

Project Overview

This research explored young people’s (aged 18-24) lived experience of borrowing, their use of credit and perceptions of their current (and of their future) financial vulnerability. Young people actively participated in designing solutions to reduce their financial vulnerability.

Project Objectives

The objectives of this research were to:

• Understand young people’s financial lived experience to assess their perceived and actual financial vulnerability;
• Explore their experience of credit e.g. why they borrow;
• Understand how young people frame their decision-making given their perceived and actual financial vulnerability in the short- and longer-term.

Project Impact Statement

The project was designed to:

• Fill gaps in our understanding of young people’s financial vulnerability: explore 80 young people’s lived experience of borrowing and their perceptions of their current (and future) financial vulnerability when using credit.
• Co-create solutions to reduce financial vulnerability: young people will be included in identifying and shaping proposed solutions and recommendations to support their financial wellbeing.
• Influence policy and practice through project dissemination.

Project Outputs

• View the project report
• Low-income families and employment support (financialfairness.org.uk)
• Understanding retirement in the UK (abrdn Financial Fairness Trust)
• Young people’s reluctance to talk about money is putting them at risk – here’s how to help them (theconversation.com)