Several years ago, at the end of 2019, I lost quite a bit of money investing in a final year of an acting course just before lockdown. The company eventually went bust. We had a similar issue (on a smaller scale) with one of my son’s part-time courses a few years before. A decade or more ago we also leant quite a bit of money to a couple of friends. One debt was recently paid but the other remains. Fairly recently, I also did a work project for the brother of one of them and sure enough he ended up defaulting on the final invoice due to financial difficulties. I’ve also had another recent problem with a significant sum of money not being paid when due.
It’s taken me a while to get my head around whether there are common issues with each case – other than my over trusting nature – and don’t worry the charity’s money is safely overseen by all our trustees! The reasons for each situation are complex of course but one factor I think that may be common is a certain level of number blindness.
We are all taught maths at school. Some people are very good at it and go on to become top scientists, engineers, computer programmers etc. Then there are others who go on to become accountants (like me) or who end up in the city as traders or in the gambling industry – arguably much the same thing… Some people are good enough to be able to use their numeracy skills, alongside other talents, to set up and run their own businesses or become leaders of industry.
However, there are those who struggle, some to a significant extent, and might even suffer from dyscalculia (or the financial equivalent of dyslexia). Whilst I was never a genius at maths at school, managing money was drummed into me early on as a child and I was able to apply it later on to an economics degree and a career. I eventually got quite good at explaining and presenting complex financial models and scenarios to a whole mix of audiences, government, local authority and housing association officers, politicians and tenants amongst others.
But every now and again now I still need to remind myself when talking to some people that there are vast differences in our abilities to understand financial information. And this also applies to people managing their own personal finances or (if they are a small business owner) their business finances. I’ve seen this first hand working in the social housing and voluntary sectors. A common factor in deprivation is numeracy skills. And whilst there are ways of addressing some aspects of deprivation, number blindless and an inability to manage finances is I believe a much more complex matter if it becomes so entrenched in people’s behaviour.
Alongside this of course is the cultural issue related to how money effects our perceived status and position in society. Much of the world has now adopted the general capitalist ethos which associates success with trappings of income and wealth, houses, cars, holidays, etc. We are constantly sold to these days. Sometimes our desire to acquire the latest gadget or attend an event isn’t just about enjoying it, it’s about presenting ourselves as ‘well off’ to our peers at whatever strata of society we find ourselves. Some spending habits can become addictive.
The challenge comes if the pressure to make that all important acquisition is done without really taking account of the consequences on one’s bank balance. There are important safety nets in our economic system for people on low incomes and those that get into difficulty, but we all have a certain freedom of choice in how we use the resources we have. If spending patterns become so established and the number blindness takes over, it can lead to far worse behavioural consequences once debts mount up. We are not a charity which specialises in supporting people who have financial difficulties, but I believe it is incumbent on those of us in society who are more numerate, to look out for those who struggle the most, where we can.