Poor Basic Numeracy Skills Essay

People who have poor basic numeracy skills will often have poor levels of financial literacy. They may lack knowledge, ability and understanding needed when dealing with financial matters. An individual with poor basic numeracy skills will find it difficult to keep up-to-date with new financial products and changes in the financial matters, find it more difficult to assess where to go for advice when problems occur and struggle to ascertain whether products and services are for their needs and whether they are value for money. This then leads to a lack of confidence, which in turn means that they are more likely to fall victim of fraud, are more likely to have poor service, poor financial advice and therefore poor financial products, are unlikely

Every day people undertake some kind of financial transaction, whether it is checking receipts, counting change, checking balance at the ATM or paying a bill. Sometimes, consumers have to undertake more complex financial transactions, such as opening a bank account, taking out a mortgage or comparing saving accounts (Marcolin & Abraham, 2006). Welsh Assembly Government (2007) added that a person with poor basic numeracy skills and poor financial skills will find it increasingly difficult to function in today’s society. Competition is fierce – individuals are constantly being sent information on new financial products and services and financial institutions are keener than ever to sell their products. Therefore, they must have the skills, knowledge, capabilities and confidence to evaluate and compare financial products and services, in addition to managing simple, day-to-day financial tasks. In fact, a study conducted by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (2012) proved that an increase in an individual’s basic numeracy skills is associated with an increase in his financial