Financial worries and debt place enormous strain on family life.
It has also been widely reported that a large contributor to financial difficulties is a lack of knowledge and understanding of even the basics.
A report from the Social Policy Justice Group, headed by Iain Duncan Smith, spelled out the problem.
"Debt and financial worries are a common cause of relationship tension," it said.
"Relate have found that money rates as the top cause of arguments among couples.
"This tension can lead to relationship and family breakdown," the report added.
Surveys show that 79% of people do not know what an APR is, 25% have no idea how much they spend in a week and 26% have no idea of their monthly cash flow.
Furthermore, some 15% of 18-24 year-olds think an Isa is an iPod accessory, while 19% of adults hope to improve their standard of living in retirement by winning the lottery.
What can be done about it?
School lessons teaching young people about how to manage their money is one of those issues that everyone agrees ought to happen but doesn't, or at least, not yet.
It is often claimed that there just isn't enough space in the curriculum, but surely that is a matter of priority.
Is teaching people how to manage their own finances important enough to take its place alongside mathematics and history?
The dire state of personal indebtedness in the UK would argue very definitely yes!
The UK's consumer debt mountain now breaches the £1.3 trillion mark and is growing at the rate of £1m every four minutes.
This figure translates to an average household debt in the UK of an astonishing £9,000 (excluding mortgages).
The Citizens' Advice Bureau recently released figures to show that more than 5,300 people were seeking their advice about debt-related problems every day.
Government statistics released this month confirm there have been a record number of insolvencies in the last quarter.
Tory pledge
The implications for society at large are obvious - at the core of almost all of our social problems is the mismanagement of money due to financial ignorance.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has pledged that if he is elected to government, financial education will be taught in all schools.
So Ifs School of Finance is making the case right now to the government about the importance of a stand-alone GCSE in personal finance.
We already offer GCSE and AS-level equivalent qualifications in more than 170 schools and colleges across the UK.
Lessons cover a range of topics including opening and accessing bank accounts, using credit cards, differentiating between different mobile phone tariffs and general money management, among a range of other issues relevant to daily life.
Changed behaviour
We were interested to see if taking such targeted lessons actually had an impact on people's behaviour, so we commissioned an independent longitudinal study by the University of Manchester into the effectiveness of our financial education qualifications.
This confirmed that 95% of students were better able to manage their finances as a result of taking our Certificate in Financial Studies (an AS-level equivalent qualification).
Many students taking the course, which carries a full Ucas tariff, have changed to a different bank account yielding a better return.
Others purchased additional 'non-traditional' products, such as Isas or investment bonds.
There was also an increase in the number of students owning multiple financial products and a decrease in the proportion of students who owned one or more credit or store cards.
These qualifications are clearly effective, but are not yet delivered in all schools and colleges in the UK.
If all young people had the opportunity to study such courses, the improvements would be far more widespread and would not only benefit individuals, but society as a whole.
If we are serious about improving levels of financial capability, we need to dramatically improve the availability of financial education - and all the available evidence suggests the best way to do so is via a stand-alone qualification in personal finance.
Source: Gavin Shreeve, Chief Executive, Ifs School of Finance, BBC Online News
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