Iona Bain – Keynote Speaker

Award-winning journalist, broadcaster, speaker and author, and is the UK’s go-to voice on millennial money

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Iona Bain Profile Picture

Specialist Subjects

  • The cost-of-living crisis and how we can respond
  • Financial education/inclusion: why it matters and how to make it work
  • Me, money and making it: how I got here and what I’ve learned
  • How to own it: demystifying savings, pensions and investing for a new generation

Language

  • English

Biography

Iona Bain is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, speaker and author, and is the UK’s go-to voice on millennial money. She is BBC Morning Live’s resident financial expert.

Since founding the pioneering Young Money Blog in 2011, she’s gone on to become one of the most respected financial writers of her generation, with a rare combination of accessibility and authority. Iona’s beginnings in the finance world came when she was a jobbing musician still living at her parents home back in Edinburgh, and her savings were burgled from her piggy bank. All she knew about money needed to change and her dyscalculia meant her uphill struggle was larger than most. Iona founded Young Money Blog to help her generation get to grips with their finances and quickly found an audience with her down-to-earth, witty and helpful analysis of the financial problems facing millennials. Iona has also appeared on Channel 4’sCryptocurrency: Has the Bubble Burst?; Rip Off Britain; NewsNight; Question Time and the One Show. She also recently reported for Radio 4’s File on 4, investigating record complaints about social housing and allegations of degrading treatment of tenants.

Iona’s empathetic approach has earned her the title Money Hacker in residence for Radio 1’s flagship advice programme Life Hacks. She has been flying the flag for young people’s financial rights on the airwaves for over 10 years, and has also been a roving financial reporter for Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch. Podcast appearances range from the Spectator’s flagship Edition show, to Free the Geezer with rap group The Manor, to Saira Khan’s podcast Backing Brilliant Business, demonstrating Iona’s versatility. Iona is also a staple of online youth and female-focused media, with recent contributions to VICE UK, British Vogue and Refinery 29.

Iona writes a bi-weekly column for the Metro and is a regular contributor to the Financial Times. Her journalism and commentary have appeared extensively in both national and regional titles, including the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Independent and the New Statesman, and Iona’s book ‘Own It!’ is all about how young people can invest their way to a better future.

Iona is particularly proud of her educational work, having collaborated with BBC Social, BBC Bitesize and Young Scot to produce a series of educational videos. Iona is an ambassador for National Numerary society and campaigns for awareness for dyscalculia. She also worked with the Lloyds Banking Academy on the Your Future Finances initiative, the first educational programme in the UK to be fully sign language enabled. Iona is also the youngest-ever governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.

Iona’s has worked with a number of brands, including Mastercard, Skipton, Virgin Money and Iceland.

Popular Talks by Iona Bain

The cost-of-living crisis and how we can respond

This  is  an  overview  of  the  financial  challenges  facing  the  public  right  now  (particularly  younger  people)  and how  employers/individuals/society  can  respond  effectively.

The  cost-of-living  crisis  and  its  impact  on  different  demographics

Advice  for  how  to  navigate  the  crisis  as  an  individual/employer  depending  on circumstances/demographics

The  housing  crisis,  central  bank/government  policy  and  the  increasing  complexity  of  digital  finance

The  all-important  roadblock  between  financial  independence  and  settlement

The  wider  social  and  cultural  trends  driving  young  people’s  dissatisfaction  with  their  finances,  such as  high  expectations  set  by  baby  boomers

The  biggest  myths  surrounding  millennial  finance,  from  the  avocado  brunch  fallacy  to  the  idea  that we’re  all  self-employed  side  hustlers

The  social,  economic  and  financial  factors  in  our  favour

How  individuals  and/or  organisations  can  capitalise  on  technology,  expanding  knowledge  and  cultural de-stigmatisation  of  money  to  improve  our  financial  outlook.

Financial education/inclusion: why it matters and how to make it work

An  in-depth  look  at  how  financial  education  can  transform  young  people’s  understanding  of  money,  looking at:

The  evidence  supporting  the  argument  for  financial  education

What’s  currently  going  wrong  in  financial  education?

How  self-taught  money  education  changed  my  life

My  insights  gained  from  10  years  working  on  various  educational  projects

Approaches  and  methods  that  could  prove  most  effective

How  can  organisations  use  financial  education  to  empower  their  workforce?

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