The cost of confusion

In this guest post from financial education charity Money Ready, CEO Leon Ward shares the motivation behind their flagship campaign, highlighting the Cost of Not Knowing.

At Money Ready, our vision is a financially fluent population. We design and deliver financial education sessions in schools, youth organisations and communities to equip people aged four to forty to understand money and how to manage it. These sessions offer insights into the options for saving, budgeting, borrowing and more, delivered in fun and relatable ways that contribute to boosting confidence around money.  

We also raise awareness of the need for financial inclusion through campaigns and conversations with the public and the UK government. In January 2026 we launched our Cost of Not Knowing campaign with research that makes it clear the costs of not understanding money go far beyond the money we earn or owe. 

Our survey of 3,000 adults provided some daunting statistics. Almost 30% miss out due to leaving money in low or no-interest savings accounts, 34% admit they actively avoid major financial decisions because they don't know where to start and 43% believe they could have saved more if they’d had better budgeting education.  

We observe the cost of not knowing firsthand in our young adult and adult sessions. Many participants are surprised to learn the difference between AER and APR and to discover that buy now, pay later schemes can charge them more than they borrow if they don’t pay back a minimum monthly amount. Money Ready sessions change mindsets, and we see a 32% improvement in people keeping up with priority payments, with 70% gaining confidence in managing their money. 

The £641 ‘confusion tax’  

Money Ready’s recent research also showed that a lack of financial education is costing UK residents hundreds of pounds annually. Left unchecked, these losses can add up to over £3,000 in five years and £6,000 in a decade. 

Money left in a low or no-interest savings account can add up to an average loss of £342. Forgetting to cancel a free trial or paying for unused subscriptions or memberships adds up to an average cost of £213. Missing a bill or payment and needing to pay fees or interest can add up to over £260.

And those are just a few of the losses we could avoid each year. 

Stress about money is also significantly impacting daily life: 21% can’t sleep for worrying and 15% report that financial anxiety causes issues in their relationships. 

Financial difficulties or oversights aren’t the kinds of things we want to chat about with colleagues, friends or even loved ones. Yet we shouldn’t feel ashamed of our money mistakes when we were never taught to avoid them.

We guide people to learn to swim, ride a bike or drive a car, yet when it comes to navigating financial products and services, there is little or no training provided. Whether it's something relatively small like forgetting to cancel a subscription or something life-changing like choosing a mortgage, the consequences of not understanding money add up for individuals and for the whole country.  

This is why Money Ready’s Cost of Not Knowing campaign aims to raise national awareness about the tangible and emotional consequences of financial illiteracy. We’re calling for systemic financial education to give everyone the tools to act with confidence.

Starting early for life-long resilience 

Building healthy money habits offers lifelong financial resilience, which means it’s vital for financial education to start as early as possible. 

We deliver Money Ready’s Change the Game initiative to primary school children from ages four to eleven. The benefits of this continuous intervention are backed up by ongoing research from the King’s College Policy Institute. Three years in, this study already shows that the financial knowledge of pupils having Change the Game sessions is 5.6% higher than that of children not receiving these workshops. 

We’re excited that financial education is central to the government’s Curriculum & Assessment Review’s recommendations. Introducing financial education from key stage 1 will bring England in line with other UK nations, while stronger provision in secondary schools will help create a continuous learning journey into adulthood.  

However, adding financial education to the curriculum isn’t enough. Despite technically being part of the secondary curriculum in England since 2014, our own research has shown that more than 60% of young people don’t recall receiving any lessons on budgeting, saving or other money essentials.

So, the challenge now is to support schools and teachers to make financial education a vibrant, lived experience in every classroom. Delivered in an impactful way, financial education offers confidence and skills that can improve every aspect of life in the long term. And we all deserve that chance. 

Money Ready micro financial takeaways 

• Check your bank account regularly and review your statements. Are there direct debits or standing orders to services you aren’t using and can cancel?
• Understand the difference between APR and AER. Both are types of interest: APR shows the cost of borrowing, while AER shows the potential growth on savings. Knowing the difference can help you better understand how debts and savings work and make more informed financial decisions.

• Automate savings and payments. Many banks let you round up purchases or set up automatic transfers to other accounts, such as savings or credit. Automating payments can help reduce the chance of missed payments and fees while building positive habits over time.

If you’d like to find out more, try our Money Ready MOT quiz to discover your financial readiness score and get personalised learning pathways.