Share Sounds related to Financial Education

Author of 'Capitalism in the 21st Century' Thomas Piketty proposes an unconditional 'inheritance' endowment for all young people on reaching 25 years of age. Grants often appear to offer instant solutions to problems of inequality, but unless they are accompanied by conditional incentivised learning they will not achieve inter-generational rebalancing. In contrast, Muhammad Yunus has built accountability into his design for micro-finance, thereby enabling young people to look forward with a constructive approach towards achieving their potential in our fast-changing world. Attitudinal transformation takes time and commitment to take hold, but it does achieve results. Background music: 'World's Sunrise' by1 Jimena Contreras Image source: Wikipedia

Rory McGowan is joined by Michael Follett, Founder & Director of OPAL and an International Play Consultant. They've found some new research that shows widespread support from the public for UK schools to change their policies and adopt an always active uniform. The Alliance, founded by Outdoor Play and Learning, the Youth Sport Trust, Play England, and the Centre for Young Lives claims traditional uniforms restrict movement, limit opportunities for active play, and don’t reflect the needs of modern learning environments. https://outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk/

Outcome assessment is vital for all new initiatives, particularly political, but traditional academic research, which is sequential in character, is not good at responding to the speed of change in our modern world. This is particularly the case in tackling Child Poverty, for which a UK-Government Task Force is due to report later this Spring. If we are to break the cycle of deprivation with inter-generational rebalancing, we need a new sense of dynamism and responsiveness. Background music: 'Peony Morning' by TrackTribe

Gordon Brown and Ruth Kelly set out a comprehensive plan to tackle child poverty with the Child Trust Fund. We've learnt a huge amount from putting it into practice over the past two decades, and we're now ready for a more focused 'Mark 2' which will embody all of the lessons learnt. But will our new Labour Government have the strategic determination to follow their example? Or will it fall to today's philanthropists, walking in the footsteps of people like Andrew Carnegie, to take up the baton? The encouragement to make significant charitable endowments remains intact in inheritance taxation arrangements, and can support 75% of the commitment necessary to deliver a new scheme. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads Image source: Telegraph Newspapers

Adam Cox is joined by Leon Ward from charity, MyBnk. Most young people who have experienced care face an uphill struggle when turning 18. However, this is never truer than when it comes to financial education and literacy — with many care leavers feeling lost and unable to manage their money effectively. Leon discusses this and how MyBnk offer support. https://www.mybnk.org/

With the '50% matured' stage for Child Trust Funds being reached at the end of October, The Share Foundation hopes the Chancellor will announce introduction of its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' plan in the Budget. This would immediately release c. £250 million of accounts to low-income young adults. Meanwhile The Share Foundation's pre-launch announcement of its forthcoming 'Stepping Forward — Performing Arts for Life' course also caught the eye of BBC news with their webpage article of this major life skills initiative for young people in care, building on the success of its Stepladder Plus course. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero Image source: Particle6

How well do you manage your money? Where would you rate your budgeting, saving, investing and pension efforts in marks out of ten? It's not often that we think about these things but mulling them over and making improvements where needed and patting yourself on the back when deserved, is a major step on the road to financial success. Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert dial down the noise of the news and dive into how we can manage our money better instead. They discuss tips on how to budget, how to boost your savings and returns, how easy or complicated investing should be, and why a pension is the best and easiest way to get rich. They also share an honest look at their own money management and finances, revealing what they do well, what they just about get by at — and the mistakes they make. Plus, when should you decide to get the professionals in and seek financial advice or financial planning? Simon and Georgie discuss that and the costs. And financial planner Dan Beecroft, of Charles Stanley, joins the show to talk about why people seek financial advice and the questions they ask.

UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson describes our current system for financing higher education as 'the worst of all worlds', and she's right. The combination of loan funding and universality has generated chronic problems for both students and universities. We need to apply inter-generational logic to address both this problem and the challenges faced by other disadvantaged young people from low-income backgrounds. The Times placed this story on its front page last Saturday, and re-introduction of maintenance grants for these young people will be part of the solution: this issue will clearly get some focus in the UK Budget on 30th October. Hopefully it will also include those other areas where focused help is needed for disadvantaged young people, including starter capital accounts and incentivised learning, with funding to be drawn from IHT receipts. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads

The oldest recipient of a Child Trust Fund turned 22 on Sunday 1st September, but the great majority of those allocated by HMRC (due to no action by the young person's parents by their 1st birthday) are unclaimed. This is the story of Joe, who really needs his money to get started in adult life — but he doesn't know anything about his good fortune. The Share Foundation has already enabled over 60,000 young people to claim their accounts, but that's a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of accounts lying dormant with account providers. So The Share Foundation is now asking Government to implement its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' proposal for HMRC-allocated accounts. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

It's been a long wait for summer this year, and we need to search for glimmers of hope as we approach the new political/economic/academic year. One such is the significant rise in Maths 'A' level entries, which will help young people find good careers. Another is the 0.25% reduction in interest rates: a cautious and close-run decision in times of considerable turbulence. Real interest rates are still 3%, so there's a long way to go. If the current rash of street riots allow it, we need to use the few weeks of summer calm to reflect on the big issues holding us back, including how to achieve a world without poverty. Background music: 'Solar Power' by Ashley Shadow