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How improved numeracy can help with money management

7 Feb 2025

Understanding numbers is an essential skill when it comes to all kinds of everyday tasks, not least managing money.

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has highlighted the need for number skills with bills increasing and budgets getting tighter.

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Money management is an essential everyday skill

Having spoken to many learners over the years, the theme of money management has come up repeatedly.

A fear of numbers can make life difficult, with bills, payslips, the weekly shop and bank accounts all requiring a level of numeracy skills.

The many numbers in everyday life can seem overwhelming, but being able to approach and understand them better can make a big difference when it comes to managing finances and everyday expenditure.

Getting on better with numbers can help with money management

The learners we have spoken to have told us that by improving your numeracy, you can learn to deal with everyday number tasks with greater confidence – read on for examples.

You can start your numeracy improvement journey today with our free online tool, the National Numeracy Challenge. Over 620,000 people have already registered!

Try the National Numeracy Challenge

Jo:

“When we just used cash in shops, I would go to pay for things and I wouldn’t have enough money because I wasn’t able to add it up as I went round, but now I feel a lot more confident about adding things up.

“You need to be able to do things in your head sometimes and for me, those times are considerably less stressful now because of what I’ve done with National Numeracy.

“It’s helped me in daily life with shopping and knowing whether something is a bargain or not. I can do all that now and I can do it while I’m looking at it which is a huge thing because I never would have been able to before the Challenge.”

Read Jo's full story

Alma:

“I use numeracy to manage money, calculate my income and understand my payslip. My new confidence with numbers has been very useful in applying it to daily life tasks.”

Read Alma's full story

Belinda:

“I’ve recently started to budget and manage my money, and I find it really helps to understand it and be able to add the totals together, and understanding what deals you can get in what kind of way: “Is it worth it for me to buy these extra things because I’m going to get this one for free, or is it not?” Simple things like that really help within budgeting.

“With bills as well – especially with the way inflation is, it’s really, really hard for everyone. As a younger adult I used to literally just open and close my bills and put them in a drawer because it overwhelmed me, and I got into so much debt because of that.

“It’s so important to be comfortable enough with numbers that you can be on top of your finances and on top of your life. That really gives you confidence and manageability.”

Read Belinda's full story

Anne:

“I'm a homeowner now. At one point I didn't think that was possible, but understanding how to control my money helped me with all sorts of things.

“Before, I would have avoided a lot of things to do with maths, but now I'm much more proactive with it. I can understand the implications of percentage rises and mortgages, rather than just that it’s going up.”

Read Anne's full story

Peter:

"I feel comfortable controlling my money and accounts. This is really important because there's only so much money coming in and there's a lot going out.

“I’m working out what I've got, projecting what I think I'm going to need, and reconciling my bank account with what I'm spending.”

Read Peter's full story

Rebecca:

"National Numeracy have found that 18 to 24-year-olds are the most maths anxious adult age group, and I think it’s because people are leaving education without knowing enough about important things like renting and understanding bills.

"If you’re at university or college you’re not necessarily earning – you might have a job but sometimes people don’t – so you need to be aware of the cost of things. Even if you do have a job, you need to work out how much you’re earning and how to pay your rent and things like that.

"Maths is all around us, we use it every day. Maths is valuable and being more aware of percentages now, I’ve been able to look more at offers when shopping such as a tag that says ‘25% off’."

Read Rebecca's full story

National Numeracy Day 2025!

This year’s National Numeracy Day – 21 May – will have a money theme. Click below to learn more and to sign up to receive further information about the campaign in the run up to the big day.

How improved numeracy can help with money management

Money management is an essential everyday skill

Getting on better with numbers can help with money management