What’s the right mobile phone contract for my budget? Do I need a credit card, or would I be better off with a debit card? How does the pension system work? Almost all the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis, whether work-related or otherwise, require some understanding of financial matters and the worlds of business and economics. However, there are many people in Germany who lack this skillset. With this in mind, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research have launched an initiative aimed at strengthening financial education. The kick-off event on 23 March in Berlin saw Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz discuss with other experts why this initiative matters and what it means.

Initiative aims to strengthen financial education

If you’re financially skilled – in other words, you have a good grasp of financial and economic matters – you’re more likely to make better decisions when it comes to spending, savings or investments. All the panellists agreed with that tenet and argued that enhancing the general public’s financial skills was a crucial endeavour, especially in times of economic upheaval. That was why the Bundesbank expressly welcomed this initiative, Mr Balz said. 

The Bundesbank bases its educational programme around central banking-related topics, which it delivers through its lectures for school classes and groups of visitors, publications, Money Museum and website. These address questions like the following: What is money? What is inflation? Why is price stability so important? How does monetary policy work? 

Besides the Bundesbank, there are many other initiatives, firms and public institutions in Germany that offer financial education materials and events. For Burkhard Balz, a common online platform for quality-assured learning opportunities would be a good way to increase transparency and quickly get people started with economic education. Setting up a kind of “one-stop shop” with many helpful resources should therefore be one aim of this initiative, he emphasised.