
Personal Finance


Could your Bitcoin become worthless? Iona comments
Yesterday, the UK financial regulator issued a stark warning about the risky nature of investing in crypto currencies like Bitcoin. The Financial Conduct Authority said


A not very Happy New Year? The financial problems & opportunities ahead
It’s only Jan 11th of a New Year and it’s safe to say that if 2021 was on a free trial, we’d have cancelled our


What to expect in the Spending Review: me for BBC News
Today is the Spending Review – and Rishi Sunak is outlining the government’s spending priorities for the year ahead. I spoke to BBC News about


Saving is BACK – but what does the future hold?
Over the past couple of days, I’ve been talking a LOT about saving. Later I’ll be back doing one of my fave things in the


The 4 best financial apps of 2020 revealed!
Financial technology has become a very crowded field in recent years, and it can be hard to know which apps are genuinely innovative and helpful.


FT Money Clinic Podcast: Budgeting as a graduate
Could there be a worse year than 2020 to graduate from university? Lockdown disrupted final exams, not to mention final goodbyes. As companies reel from


Cash Chats episode 3: working rights, pensions, credit scores & investing
The latest episode in Young Scot’s Cash Chats series has landed! It was broadcast live this week on Facebook but in case you missed it,


Enough is enough. Young people must live, love and object to further restrictions
Young people should no longer tolerate being ignored and mistreated while flawed science and weak political leadership blights their future. Here’s why Young Money doesn’t


How financial brands should react to Covid
This week the ‘Rule of Six’ came into force, with people facing fines of up to £3,200 if they don’t abide by the new measure


What should I do with my Child Trust Fund?
Dear Iona, My mum and dad opened a Child Trust Fund for me in 2002. I turned 18 last week and I have about £15,000


Financial abuse and love fraud: my advice for R29
Someone you’ve been dating online tells you they have a financial problem and starts asking you for money. Or perhaps you’re about to move in


Tips for getting better-value insurance
Today, the financial regulator announced that it would push for insurers to end the so-called “loyalty premium”, where customers end up paying hundreds of pounds


Pre-order Own It! – coming March 2021
Are you young and feeling left behind financially? It doesn’t have to be this way. The UK’s leading millennial money expert, Iona Bain, is on


My student finance primer for the Guardian
Illustration by Robyn Packham Student finance: everything you need to know about managing your money I was very pleased to act as the Guardian’s student


Iona joins Paul Johnson for new radio series: “The Austerity Audit”
One or two of you may have spotted this over the weekend in the press radio previews: I’m really pleased to confirm I’ll be joining


The truth about graduate costs today: Iona’s insights for Milkround
Forget about the cost of living: are you, as a graduate, ready for the cost of working? That might sound like a silly question. After


Facebook stream: Nail your student finances with Iona & experts
If you enjoyed my last Facebook stream with Young Scot, I have good news – we’ve done another one, this time on student finances. In


Radio 1’s Money Hacker Iona answers YOUR questions!
Iona is proud to be Radio 1’s Money Hacker in residence and she returned to the programme this week to take listeners’ questions on the


Iona on BBC’s GrownupLand podcast
So I was invited on the BBC’s GrownupLand podcast recently to talk about young people + money… We ended up having a really interesting natter


Top money wisdom from me and two experts #cashchats
If you enjoyed yesterday’s video on budgeting, check out this slightly longer webinar if you want some more in-depth hacks on how to budget like


This is the one budgeting video you need this year!
Budgeting – it’s a concept that can be confusing, complicated and boring. But the truth is that budgeting is relatively simple and totally game-changing for


Apprenticeships: are we failing disadvantaged young people?
Iona took government minister Steven Barclay to task last week in her debut on BBC’s Question Time. She noted how he had failed to defend


Eat more frozen & other food budgeting hacks
I was really pleased to team up with Birds Eye and Iceland to discuss their new research with radio stations across the UK today. We’ve


Top money hacks for global millennials during COVID-19 #spon
First there was Brexit, now we have coronavirus…boy it’s been a bumpy road if you’re a global millennial, used to travelling and working wherever you


Wirecard and the damage done to British fintech
Thousands of people who rely on pre-paid cards got the news they had been desperately waiting for this week. Their cards were unblocked by the


Half of young Brits ‘borrowing to survive’
Around half of all 18 – 34 year olds in the UK have got into more debt during COVID-19 just to pay for household basics,


Why I’m switching away from HSBC
Late last year, I wrote about why it was good to have “FOBO” – that’s the fear of better options – when it comes to


How much are young people borrowing during COVID-19?
So NOW we know what happens when you lock down pretty much the entire consumer economy: GDP and spending plummets, while debt repayments and saving


How banks can help the COVID-19 generation
Lenin once said: “There are whole decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” In recent months, we have watched the most


What is the new normal for young people?
It was a pleasure to take part in a recent debate with future guru Patrick Dixon and ‘Queen of Shops’ Mary Portas, hosted by JLA.