Bridging the Gap: Financial Security for Young Adults

The Principal Foundation works in the community to help disadvantaged individuals achieve financial security. In a post-pandemic world, they identified an information gap around the specific financial headwinds faced by 15 to 36-year-olds, particularly those from low- to moderate-income backgrounds. The Foundation needed data to highlight these challenges to the wider world and insight to help guide young people towards a brighter financial future.

Talking about finance with a young and wary audience can be challenging. We used the control and distance of an online video interview to enable a more candid, empathetic discussion. As trust was built, real-world challenges and issues gradually emerged.
This learning was then integrated into a larger robust and national study to give the Foundation the data they needed to capture media attention.

This hybrid approach provided a comprehensive view of financial realities for this audience, but also revealed opportunities for positive change. The study’s findings were made public, and quickly amplified by commentators like Market Watch and Motley Fool.
With greater awareness of these issues, the efforts of the Principal Foundation are now more widely supported. The insight will now help LMI youth navigate a future of greater financial stability.