A young girl being given pocket money from her parent

The Big Money Lesson: Borrow now, pay later – the pros and cons of borrowing money

Watch The Big Money Lesson

Borrow now, pay later: The pros and cons of borrowing money

Money Ready hosted a third live webinar in the Big Money Lesson Series on 19th March 2026, exploring the different types of borrowing available, what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ debt can look like, and how borrowing choices can affect things like credit scores, risk, financial wellbeing and much more.

Take part with your group

If you missed out on the live webinar, we’ve recorded a shortened version of the lesson which you can watch with your class or group in your own time. Our expert trainer Nia covers the exact same topics and activities, and instructs you on the times to pause the video to continue the discussions in your classroom.

If you are playing the recording of the lesson in your class in your own time, we anticipate it should take approximately 40 minutes, allowing time to pause the video for discussions and activities.

This lesson is ideal for school pupils in Y6-Y7 (P7 and S1 in Scotland, P7 and Y8 in Northern Ireland) but is also suitable for children of a similar age across upper primary and lower secondary.

Learning objectives:

Compare different borrowing options and evaluate risks
Make informed decisions about financial risks
Understand the consequences of poor financial decisions

Siaradwyr Cymraeg / Welsh speakers

Mae gennym ni hefyd recordiad o’r Wers Arian Fawr ar gael i siaradwyr Cymraeg. Noder mai dim ond yn Saesneg y mae’r gweithgareddau dilynol ar gael ar hyn o bryd.

We also have a recording of the lesson available in Welsh. Please note the activity downloads are only available in English.

Follow up activities

Hopefully your group are thinking more critically now about what borrowing money looks like. Keep the conversations going by taking part in our follow up activities. We’ve prepared 3 discussion topics to talk over with your learners:

Someone was once charged 16,734,509.4% APR for an £80 loan. Do you think this is fair of the company?
The average APR on credit cards is currently 24.66% APR. How long would it take to pay off £500 debt paying £50 a month?
How many ways to borrow can you spot in the world after this session? Over the next 24 hours see how many you can find.

Download the activities: You can use these digital copies or download print outs.

Download the activities

Choose from digital versions or print-outs.

Download the resources

Thank you! We hope to see you at the next Big Money Lesson!

You can also take part in our first Big Money Lesson from June 2025 teaching teens how to spot scams & stay safe online, and the second from November 2025 all about digital spending, from gaming, to online shopping, to social media.

Share your feedback

We would love to hear about your experience of The Big Money Lesson. Feedback from participants helps us shape our future work, so your answers are greatly beneficial. You can complete the survey yourself as the group leader/teacher, with a few individuals in your class, or do it together as a whole group.

Send us your feedback

Register for future sessions

If you want to be the first to hear about future Big Money Ready Lessons, register your interest here.