Sometimes life throws you a surprise… like being given two days notice that you’re booked in to give a lecture to 35 students at the London School of Economics! Which just happened to sell out in 2 mins… no pressure then…

So here’s the interesting thing, not that I had the lecture arranged – it was pencilled in but never confirmed – but that it sold out so fast. An email was sent to students, who won’t necessarily be sat by a computer checking email (like the rest of us at work!), and 35 people responded withing 2 mins.

The title of the session is “Recession-Proof Yourself”

And however much I’d like to think the interest was due to my dashing good-looks (ok,ok, no picture was sent with the email) it actually points to something more insightful – A lack of financial education and resources for young people.

Now these students will be the brightest of the bright, doing degrees in Economics, Management, Business and so on, but they will not have knowledge of some basic financial principles – because no-one’s taught them. I know, because after 4 years of financial training at university I was still £22,000 in debt and had no idea how to manage my money!

The other sad thing is that those who had tried to seek out financial advice were probably given what could best be described as average information, or even worse. For me the first big financial step I took was opening a current account and yes, taking advantage of the interest-free overdraft. And then being financially astute as I was, going to another bank and doing exactly the same thing! Yep, I had a £3,100 maxed out rolling overdraft the day I left uni.

Drug-Dealing and Debt Conditioning

I often talk about how debt is pushed in a similar way to drugs – starting with the “free sample” – and this is how debt is pushed to students with the interest-free overdraft. Before long as students we get conditioned to thinking it is perfectly normal to be thousands of pounds in debt.

Now these students will be the high-earners of tomorrow… who having been conditioned into debt-driven lifestyles at univeristy will continue to rack up increasing levels of mortgage, credit card and personal debt based on multiples of their increasing income. Without realising it they will pay thousands upon thousands more for their possessions than if they hadn’t use debt to finance their lifestyles.

So hopefully the lecture today will be a first step in getting these students to seek out better and more effective ways to manage their money. I’m not the only one talking about this so even if not with me, the lecture should hopefully give them a nudge in the right direction! I know I could have done with it when I was in their place.