Alberta and the Prairies report the deepest regret over what schools never taught them about money
Only 18 percent of Canadians believe young adults today have the skills needed to manage their money, and 13 percent believe children today are building good money-management habits.
RBC’s Financial Literacy Poll found that 52 percent of respondents said they spent years catching up financially because they were not taught about money when they were younger.
Sixty-six percent said they could have avoided financial mistakes with earlier financial education, and 62 percent said their life would look different if they had learned more about managing money in school.
Seventy-two percent said they would feel more in control of their finances today with earlier financial education, and 83 percent said more education in school would have better prepared them to manage money independently.
On the question of catching up financially, agreement ranged from 47 percent in British Columbia to 61 percent in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and 61 percent in Atlantic Canada, with Alberta at 59 percent, Quebec at 51 percent, and Ontario at 49 percent.
The regional gap was wider on earlier education. Seventy-eight percent in British Columbia and 78 percent in Quebec said more schooling on money would have better prepared them, against 89 percent in both Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Belief that young adults can manage their money ran lowest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 9 percent and Alberta at 12 percent, and highest in Quebec at 22 percent.
Ninety-seven percent agree every student should have the opportunity to learn about money in school, and 95 percent consider financial literacy as important as core subjects such as math and reading.
Eighty-eight percent said students should start learning about money in early elementary grades, 75 percent said school is the best place for young people to learn about money, and 91 percent said schools need the right tools and resources to teach it.
RBC and Seaspan are expanding the Dollars + Sense financial education program to at least 750 schools annually across Canada over three years.
The program is delivered by Everfi, is available at no cost to schools, and offers three curriculum-aligned financial literacy courses for students in Grades 4 to 8.
Lessons are aligned to provincial and territorial curricula, and teachers can invite RBC volunteers into classrooms, virtually or in person.
Erica Nielsen, group head, RBC Personal Banking, said the expansion of Dollars + Sense into more schools is intended to teach students how to manage money.
She said the bank engages Canadians before they come for financial advice and as their needs change over time.
