Basic financial education prevents over-indebtedness
St. Pölten (OTS/NLK) – Since 1990, the Lower Austria debt counseling service has been offering over-indebted people, families and households free help and advice to enable them to live a life without debt. A new financial education portal is now available online, the aim of which is to make young people fit for everyday financial decisions.
As a central platform for the wide range of financial education offers from state-recognized debt advice centers, the new portal offers basic financial education in simple language. The topics range from securing livelihoods to sustainable consumption to legal aspects and are designed to be interactive with videos, quiz questions and practical tips. “According to the saying, ‘If Hans doesn’t learn, Hans never learns’, it is essential to learn how to handle money correctly and the necessary sensitivity in financial matters at an early stage. For this reason, too, the state of Lower Austria is supporting the extensive activities of the Lower Austria debt counseling service this year with a total of over 2.4 million euros and sees prevention work in particular as an important contribution to strengthening the financial competence of young people,” emphasize State Councilor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig and State Councilor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister.
Compared to the first three quarters of the previous year, consultations among young people increased by almost 14 percent. The average debt of debt counseling clients in this age group up to the age of 25 was most recently 26,147 euros.
“In our daily work, we notice that the demand for debt advice among young people is increasing. Through the free financial education portal, we want to help ensure that fewer young people fall into debt traps simply because they lack basic financial knowledge,” says Michael Lackenberger, Managing Director of the Lower Austrian Debt Advice Service.
The new portal can be accessed at finanzbildungsportal.at and is intended to appeal in particular to multipliers, such as teachers, educators and specialists in the social sector, who can support young and older people with the materials on offer.
Questions & Contact:
Office of the Lower Austrian State Government
State Office Directorate/Public Relations
Mag. Christian Salzmann
02742/9005-12172
presse@noel.gv.at
www.noe.gv.at/presse
