2.3 Life events

Birth and infanthood

• 0-2 years

Typical events:

• Birth

• Learns how to walk and talk

Examples of financial requirements:

• Parents or guardians pay for everything they need

• Relatives may save money for the child if they have any spare income

Childhood (preschool)

• 2-5 years

Typical events

• Nursery and preschool

• Makes friends

• Learns through playing with toys and friends

Examples of financial requirements:

• Parents or guardians pay for everything they need

• Relatives may save money for the child if they have any spare income

Childhood (school)

• 5-12 years

Typical events:

• Starts school

• Makes longer-term friends

• Learns skills such as reading and writing, riding a bicycle, swimming and other sports, playing a musical instrument

Examples of financial requirements

• May receive pocket money to spend on wants

• Needs and some wants met by parents

• Relatives may put money into savings for the child’s future

Teenager

• 13-19

Typical life events

• Puberty and adolescene

• Starts a part-time job

• School tests and examinations

• Goes to college or sixth form

• Learn to drive

• Develops closer relationships with peers and adults outside the family

• May leave home

Examples of financial requirements

• Income may include an allowance from parents or guardians and earnings from a part time job

• If they leave home they will be responsible for paying for their needs as well as their wants

• Likely to save for aspirations such as driving lessons in the future, maybe buying a car

Young adult

• 18-25 years

Typical events

• Moves away form home

• Goes to university or training

• Gains qualifications

• Starts a full-time job

• May be unemployed

Examples of financial requirements:

• When they leave home they will become responsible for paying for their needs as well as their wants e.g rent, household bills and food

• They may need to take out a loan to pay for further education or training

• If they find a job they will have earnings although these might be low, if not they will receive benefits

• May find it difficult to save

Mature adult

• 26-40 years

Typical events:

• Career promotions

• Career changes

• Marriage

• Children

• Buys a property

• Buys a car

• Travels abroad

Examples of financial requirements

• Earnings may increase if they are employed

• They may wish to pay for a wedding or civil partnership celebration and honeymoon

• Couples without children may be able to save for aspirations

• Buying a home and or a car usually involves borrowing money from financial providers and sometimes relatives

Middle age to late middle age

• 41-60 years / 55-65 years

Typical events

• Career promotions

• Career changes

• Children leave home

• Pays off mortgage and other debts

• Early retirement

Examples of financial requirements

• In the late middle age, people may find they have paid off their debts and their dependents have left home. They can save for old age

• Career changes may involve being made redundant and retraining for a different role

• Early retirement may be voluntary or because of poor health

Old age/retirement

• 65 onwards

Typical events

• Retirement

• Part-time job

• Leisure interests and hobbies

• Care home

Examples of financial requirements

• Income may be the state pension and any other pension arrangements they have made while working

• They may supplement their income with a part time job

• If their health is poor they may need to pay for a care home

Death

• At any time but most often in old age

Typical events:

In preparation for death people

• Make arrangements for their funeral

• Make a will

Example of financial requirements:

• People may buy a life assurance policy to repay debts and pay money to their dependants when they die

• They may pre-pay for their funeral

In the early stages of an individual’s life the costs of needs, wants and aspirations are met by who?

Their parents, guardians and other relatives

Why are children referred to as dependants?

• Have to rely on someone else for food, warmth, security, health care etc

Location

Where in the world, or in a country, a person lives can influence their life events, such as starting and ending full-time education and getting a permanent job

• Compulsory schooling starts at age 5 in England but it is 7 in Poland and Sweden

• People can leave school or training in England at 18 whilst in India it is 14

What does the decision about when to leave full-time education often depend on?

Whether or not their family can afford to send the child to school rather than to work

• Opportunities to work can vary from country to country and from region to region within a country

Income

The amount of money people have coming from earnings, benefits, a pension or other sources and the financial circumstances of the family into which the person is born influence the options they have at different life stages

Give an example where some life events may be delayed compared with other people or previous generations

• Many young adults do not have the option of leaving their parents’ property to rent or buy their own home because their income is not large enough and their family is unable to help them financially - income may increase by mature adult stage so may be able to buy a home at a later life stage

• People may delay getting married and having children because of low incomes

Health

• People who suffer from long-term poor health or disabilities may have a shorter life expectancy than others

• They may need ongoing medical treatments and specialist equipment and may be unable to work

Medical care in the UK

There is free or low cost health care available from National Health Service, and people with medical conditions may get an income and other financial assistance form the government through various benefits

• This support means that people with health issues can have the best possible life expectancy and can participate in many of the same life events as other

Status

As a person moves through the their life cycle, their social status changes, not because of their age but also because of the life events they experience

Unforeseen circumstances

A person’s status within the life cycle can be affected by all kinds of unforeseen circumstances

Give examples of unforeseen circumstances

• Positive: an unexpected inheritance

• Negative: death of a relative

How can some unforeseen circumstances be linked to the economic situation?

• Positive - when the economy is growing a person may be offered a new or better job

• Negative - in a period of low economic growth or no growth, someone who is made redundant might struggle to find another job and have to move back in with their parents