HKICPA reveals “Teen Money Management Survey” results Local primary and secondary school students’ financial skills graded at “B” level, demonstrating solid money management concepts; Urges enhanced education on wealth planning and e-payments

The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA”) conducted the "Teen Money Management Survey" to understand the consumption and financial management habits of local primary and secondary school students, and to propose suggestions to contribute to the development of financial management education for Hong Kong students. Based on the survey results, HKICPA graded the financial management skills of primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong at a " B" level*. The HKICPA was pleased to observe that the respondents demonstrated increasingly solid concepts of money and financial management; however, there is still room for improvement, particularly in their savings and expenses tracking habits. In addition, the HKICPA recommends that financial education continue to be provided to students, with a specific focus on wealth planning and the utilization of electronic payments.

The Institute has been actively engaging with Hong Kong’s new generations through a range of interactive student programmes, including the “Rich Kid, Poor Kid” financial education programme and experimental learning activities series. These programmes aim to instil proper financial management knowledge to primary and secondary school students, as well as tertiary students. Furthermore, the Institute introduces students to the latest developments in the accounting profession, supporting them in shaping their career aspirations and nurturing the next generation of CPAs and business leaders with accounting qualification for Hong Kong.

Roy Leung, President of HKICPA, said, "The Institute firmly believes that instilling proper financial management concepts and knowledge at an early age can help the younger generation achieve long-term success and make significant contributions to Hong Kong's development as an international financial centre. Through this survey, the Institute aims to assess students' fundamental financial management literacy, and examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their consumption patterns, financial management habits and career plans. Based on the survey results, we have provided financial management advice to students and call upon stakeholders to provide relevant financial education support to empower students.”

HKICPA issued an online questionnaire from March to May 2023 to local primary four to secondary three students to participate in the survey anonymously. A total of 1,337 valid responses from 23 schools were successfully collected. Through this survey, the Institute hopes to provide relevant reference for parents and schools, ultimately benefiting the younger generations by offering them more relevant financial education in line with today’s societal environment. The Institute first introduced the Teen Money Management Survey in 2020 and plans to conduct it regularly, with the aim of tracking the financial habits of local students in the long term. This will enable continuous evaluation of financial education content and facilitate innovative improvements.

Students' savings and expense-tracking habits show growth; nearly half of students surveyed borrow money from peers

The survey findings revealed that 87% of students surveyed have saving habits, while 43% of them responded indicated they had the habit of money tracking expenses (including savings or expenses tracking). Compared with the results of the first survey in 2020, there has been a three percentage point increase in students with savings habits and an eight percentage point increase in students with expense tracking habits, which is encouraging.

The survey also revealed that family and schools remain the most common sources for students to learn financial knowledge, in which over 50% students responded that they learn about financial knowledge through these two channels. The students expressed the highest interest in learning about topics such as "effective savings methods", "how to save money or be smart with money", "understanding different payment methods (such as credit cards, e-wallets) ", and "how bank accounts operate". In view of this, HKICPA calls for society to strengthen support for teachers and families to provide financial education. Besides, 38% of students said they learned financial knowledge through “the Internet or mobile apps”, which was eight percentage points higher than the previous survey and surpassed "television" (21.5%) and "textbooks" (19.7%). The Institute reminds students to exercise caution and verify the reliability of online financial information, while parents and schools should also provide timely assistance.

However, it is concerning that nearly half (49.3%) of the students admitted to borrowing money from others, primarily among peers. In addition, 76.6% of the students said they had lent money to others, with a significant proportion lending to classmates or friends.

Increasing use of e-payments among students

On the other hand, the survey intends to gauge the popularity of different electronic payment platforms among local primary and secondary school students. The results showed that 95% of students said they received pocket money by cash, reflecting that cash is still most common; where the ratio is still much higher than "Octopus or transfers via other electronic payment platforms” (32.7%). Meanwhile, more than half (54.2%) of the students reported that cash continues to be the most common medium of payment for shopping. However, this is a drop from the figure of nearly 60% (59.3%) in the 2020 survey. In contrast, there has been a notable increase in the number of students who responded e-payments as their most common medium for payments. 26% of students use Octopus as their primary medium for payments, while 7% use other e-payment platforms (such as credit cards, Alipay or WeChat Pay, etc) as the major payment medium, increasing eight and four percentage points respectively when compared to 2020 figures. The Institute believes that the shift in payment patterns is associated with the changing payment habits of citizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government's distribution of consumption vouchers through electronic payment platforms.

Primary and secondary school students’ financial management skills graded at a "B" level

HKICPA believes that implementing practices of savings and expense tracking are important steps towards proper financial management. Hence, the Institute adopts "saving habits" and "money tracking habits" (including recording savings and expenses) as fundamental indicators of students' financial management status. Adding together overall observations from the survey, the Institute has graded the financial management capabilities of primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong at a "B" level. This indicates that students possess fundamental knowledge of the sources and types of money, as well as a grasp of fundamental financial management skills. In general, students have demonstrated saving habits, although there is still room for further promotion of money tracking practices. The Institute hopes to continue observing the consumption and financial habits of primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong, understanding their spending and payment patterns, identifying methods to enhance educational effectiveness, and ultimately raising the level of financial knowledge among children and teenagers.

The survey also sought to understand students' financial capabilities and found that more than 80% of the students received pocket money, and about 68% of them received pocket money on a regular basis. The average amount of pocket money received per week was $51.8 for primary four to six students and $273.9 for secondary one to three students. Both figures recorded about a 3% rise compared to the 2020 survey. In addition to pocket money, students reported receiving additional income under certain circumstances. For example, receiving red packets during the Lunar New Year (88.2%), birthdays (67.4%), other festivals or special days (27.1%), and good performance in homework or exams (26.2%). More than 40% of students (41.4%) also reported that they could obtain additional money through requests to family members.

The HKICPA believes that the data obtained from this survey will shed light on students’ concepts of money and financial management habits to different stakeholders in the community. Based on the survey results, the Institute recommends that, through everyday examples and experiments, parents and schools can guide students to think twice before making spending decisions and to keep a habit of tracking expenses, which would help nurture a mindset of spending within their means. By building the habit of “save first, spend later”, students can learn the concepts of “income” and responsible spending. 

In particular, HKICPA is concerned about the finding that quite a few responding students have already had money borrowing or lending experiences. We encourage parents to lead by example in financial management. For instance, they could share the family’s actual financial status with students, such as discussing family expenses, savings and how they establish expense budgets. Parents may also set a good example in terms of spending habits. By doing so, parents can help cultivate a responsible financial attitude and habits in their children.

On a separate note, after the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government’s distribution of multiple rounds of consumption vouchers through electronic means, e-payment tools have gradually become an indispensable part of daily life. However, there is a wide variety of e-payment tools and cashless nature of e-payment transactions. It could become more challenging for students to grasp concepts of money. The Institute recommends parents and teachers to introduce the basic operational concepts of e-payment tools and promote responsible consumption to students.

As a professional accounting body and one of the pioneering organizations promoting financial education, HKICPA will continue its dedicated efforts in fulfilling social responsibilities by launching a wide range of corporate social responsibility projects, including the “Rich Kid, Poor Kid” programme. Through these projects, the Institute provides a platform for its members to utilize their unique professional knowledge and skills as accountants to give back to society, and ultimately cultivating a financially savvy next generation in Hong Kong.

For detailed findings of the Teen Money Management Survey (Chinese only), please read the full report.

^{*For details of financial capabilities of primary and secondary students in Hong Kong ratings, please refer to the appendix below.}

^{Photo 1: The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA”) conducted the "Teen Money Management Survey" to understand the consumption and financial management habits of local primary and secondary school students, and to propose suggestions to contribute to the development of financial management education for Hong Kong students.}

^{Photo 2: HKICPA President Roy Leung said the Institute aims to assess students' fundamental financial management literacy, and examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their consumption patterns, financial management habits and career plans through this survey. Based on the survey results, we have provided financial management advice to students and call upon stakeholders to provide relevant financial education support to empower students.}

Appendix: Rating of financial capabilities of primary and secondary students in Hong Kong