Young people in financial emergency: Debt counseling demands more education!

Young people in financial emergency: Debt counseling demands more education!

Thekla, Deutschland - In Germany, the topic of increasing debt, especially among young people, is alarming. There are more and more difficulties to manage their finances, which is not least due to seductive loan offers and the possibility of "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) available at all times. According to the Diakonie , a survey by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft debt counseling for the associations (AG SBV) shows that 63% of the debt counseling centers experience a growing demand.

The AG SBV campaign week, which takes place from June 2 to June 6, 2025, bears the motto "Best investment financial education - if becomes minus plus". In this context, the need for financial knowledge is pointed out. It requires an enforcement political commitment to create more transparency for loan offers and to train people in their financial competence.

The risks of the loan offers

The trend towards BNPL offers brings risks. These payment options allow consumers to buy goods and only make the payment 30 days later, which basically represents a loan. In this way, consumers can be tempted to lose track of their expenses, especially if they deposit their account details from payment service providers such as Klarna or PayPal instead of re -entering them with every purchase. The simplicity of these services can prove to be deceptive and often leads to impulsive purchases that can later cause financial problems, such as reported.

If consumers do not make their payments in good time, this can result in additional fees and force them to switch to more expensive credit financing. The possibility of extending the payment of payment up to twice seduces many to further boost their expenses without really thinking about the financial consequences.

A call for financial policy education

The AG SBV survey also shows that a third of the debt counseling centers have increased demand for financial education offers. Nevertheless, 42% of these advice centers do not offer such offers due to personnel and financial bottlenecks. These deficits in the educational sector have a particularly strong impact, since many young people have little experience with budgeting and debt management.

Roman Schlag from AG SBV emphasizes how important promoting debt counseling centers is and calls for the anchorage of financial education in the curricula of the schools. Dr. Sally Peters from the Institute for Financial Education (IFF) supports this initiative and emphasizes that people in particular can benefit from debt advice in precarious situations. A quick access to free consulting services for over -indebtedness is essential.

The alliance of seductive credit models and a lack of financial education shows how important it is that consumers keep an eye on their expenses and, in the event of financial difficulties, fall back on professional help. Consumers are urgently encouraged to use free debt counseling if necessary and to use payment of payment as well as rate financing only for essential purchases.