18 is too young to be in charge of your finances, debt aid organizations say
Aid organizations committed to supporting young people with debts are pushing for raising the age at which someone is considered financially competent. 18 is really too young to be in charge of your finances, they told NOS Radio 1 Journaal.
“The second you turn 18, a lot changes,” NOS economics editor Bart Kamphuis explained. You can drive a car on your own if you have a license, you can drink alcohol, and you’re officially financially competent under Dutch law. That means that, all of a sudden, you are responsible for your health insurance and student loans, among other things.
But at 18, responsible choices are still very hard to make. “The brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. They are less able to assess the financial risks before that age,” Kamphuis said.
And the financial risks are increasing, with options like buy-now-pay-later making it very easy to accidentally spend more than you can afford. “It is important that young people develop without debt. Debts cause a lot of stress,” guest teacher Winston Rose, who teaches high school students about money skills, told the program.
He agrees that most 18-year-olds aren’t capable of making good financial choices. “You notice that young people have completely different interests at the age of 18, and don’t worry about it very much. If the age is raised a bit, we would have a bit more time to provide information to prepare them properly.”
The Ministry of Social Affairs understands the concerns, but it would be too complicated to increase the legally financially competent age to 21, for example, a spokesperson told the program. Among other things, that would mean that young people would be unable to take out student financing or rent a room without their parents’ permission before they turn 21. The government has made money available so that there is room in school for financial education, the spokesperson said.
