Teenagers scared by debt prospect

Many teenagers are scared by the prospect of owing money, with a fifth of youngsters claiming they never want to get into debt, according to a survey.

Some 21% of 14 to 17-year-olds claimed they planned never to have a credit card or loan, while 13% said they did not want to end up like their parents.

A further 64% said they were frightened by debt, while 53% said they did not trust lenders and 22% were worried by the prospect of fraud.

A fifth also said they were scared their spending would spiral out of control if they had access to credit, while 23% said the interest charged on credit cards and loans made them less attractive.

The survey also revealed that 7% of people even claimed to have ruled out going to university because they were worried about the debt they would run up while there.

Among those who said they never wanted a loan, 89% said the only kind of debt they would consider was a mortgage.

But 56% of those questioned said they definitely planned to get a loan or credit card in the future, with 19% of these people saying they expected to be earning enough to support themselves.

Farhad Farhadi, personal finance expert at MyVoucherCodes, said: "The younger generation are more financially savvy now than teenagers were in the past and I think a lot of youngsters have evidently learnt a lesson from their parents, who may have got themselves into debt."

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