Iona Bain
Iona Bain is a financial journalist, broadcaster, and founder of Young Money, dedicated to educating young people on personal finance.
Why you should book Iona Bain for your next event
- Expertise in Personal Finance: Iona is a respected voice in the personal finance industry, with years of experience as a financial journalist and founder of Young Money. Her talks are packed with practical advice on money management, investing, and financial wellbeing.
- Engaging and Dynamic Speaker: Iona is a skilled communicator and an engaging public speaker. She has a natural ability to connect with her audience, making complex financial concepts accessible and relatable to people of all ages and backgrounds.
- Passionate Advocate for Financial Literacy: Iona is a passionate advocate for financial literacy and believes that everyone should have access to the knowledge and tools they need to make informed financial decisions. Her talks inspire and motivate audiences to take control of their finances and plan for a secure financial future.
Non-binding request for Iona Bain
Empowering the next generation with financial confidence
Iona Bain is an award-winning financial journalist, broadcaster, author, and speaker, best known as the resident money expert on BBC Morning Live, where she shares practical, jargon-free advice with millions each week.
She launched the pioneering Young Money Blog in 2011, quickly becoming the UK’s leading voice on millennial finance. Iona has since built a high-profile media career, with appearances on Question Time, Newsnight, Panorama, and Radio 4, including Moneybox and File on 4. She writes regular columns for the i newspaper and Metro, and contributes to outlets like Vogue, VICE, and Refinery29.
Named Financial Journalist of the Year (2025) by the Institute for Financial Wellbeing, Iona is also a passionate advocate for financial inclusion. Her acclaimed work on dyscalculia led to her becoming an ambassador for National Numeracy. She is the author of two books, including Own It, and host of the hit podcast A Little Bit Richer.
In 2024, she launched Focus on Finance, an initiative helping young people explore careers in finance, and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London for services to financial literacy.
Iona can discuss the whole spectrum of consumer and personal finance, as well as wider economic and political trends that are directly affecting people's money. She offers helpful information and advice to employees and customers alike on all manner of money issues, from budgeting and saving to pensions and investments. Iona talk’s about ways people can take back control of their finances, and how employers can help their workers become more financially confident.
Iona can also discuss the impact that AI and technology is having on our finances, from chatbots, social media and automated advice to sophisticated deep fake scams, and talk about how we can harness tech for good and avoid its negative consequences.
Keynotes
Keynote 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.
NOTE: insights can be tailored to be relevant to clients' fields, e.g. insurance, investment etc.
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.
NOTE: insights can be tailored to be relevant to clients' fields, e.g. insurance, investment etc.
Keynote by Iona Bain:
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?
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?
Keynote by Iona Bain:
Me, money and making it: how I got here and what I’ve learned
An inspirational, fun, and insightful look at how I went from clueless musician to millennial money guru who appears on BBC Morning Live every week, covering:
How did a stolen piggy bank change my outlook on money?
How you can understand your financial psychology, and change it for the better.
How I learned to manage my money.
My challenges with dyscalculia, how I overcame them and my work with National Numeracy.
My work on BBC Morning Live and the impact I’m having.
What are the key lessons? From learning about debt the easy way, to setting digital boundaries.
How did a stolen piggy bank change my outlook on money?
How you can understand your financial psychology, and change it for the better.
How I learned to manage my money.
My challenges with dyscalculia, how I overcame them and my work with National Numeracy.
My work on BBC Morning Live and the impact I’m having.
What are the key lessons? From learning about debt the easy way, to setting digital boundaries.
Keynote by Iona Bain:
How to own it: demystifying savings, pensions and investing for a new generation
A helpful and accessible talk breaking down the modern financial landscape for young people today, looking at:
Why long-term saving and investing matters for you and the world.
How can you set yourself up to invest for the long-term?
The basics of pensions, from auto-enrolment to ‘greening’ your retirement fund.
The three main kinds of investing tech – robo-advisers, platforms and share-trading apps.
The dangers posed by day-trading, forex, Bitcoin and ‘finfluencers’ promoting high-risk schemes.
How to protect yourself against fraud and maximise your chances of achieving your goals.
Why long-term saving and investing matters for you and the world.
How can you set yourself up to invest for the long-term?
The basics of pensions, from auto-enrolment to ‘greening’ your retirement fund.
The three main kinds of investing tech – robo-advisers, platforms and share-trading apps.
The dangers posed by day-trading, forex, Bitcoin and ‘finfluencers’ promoting high-risk schemes.
How to protect yourself against fraud and maximise your chances of achieving your goals.
PLSA Interview with Iona Bain
Watch Iona Bain in action
