FT Commenter Iano: First, teach them the value of money. Make them understand what it takes to earn a pound. Stop giving them things for no effort! Make them understand what profit is, and what it takes to make a profit. Make them understand that what goes up can all ways go down, and save for the down times. What would you recommend regarding your first credit card?”, which I’m gonna take, is taking one out or choosing or getting one in the first place.

OK, so the quality strategy, what are the pros and cons? ‘Cause I can imagine these kinds of companies might be as expensive as the goods they sell. Digital apps commonly feature interactive quizzes, modules and games to make learning about money engaging and fun — perfect for an audience glued to their smartphones. If young people can build this capability digitally, the chances are they’ll be better prepared for future financial challenges that life may throw at them.

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Um, I do think business is, it should be shown as a proper topic at school and must be part of that in the same way maths should be part, you know, if you’re gonna become a biologist you’re gonna need to do the numbers, you know. So I definitely think that, you know, just fundamental stuff like, you know, what’s a balance sheet? It sounds really complicated. It is really, really simple. It’s just adding up and taking away. It’s as simple as that. So, you know, demystifying it, I think, would be really important. I think that would encourage more people to think that they could go into business. My name’s Lucinda. I’m 16 years old and I would love to be involved in international affairs when I’m older. You can earn, like, profits from the properties that you sell, and then you build up, like, different clients’ houses as well. Well, you’ll be relieved to hear I’m not gonna pitch to you a business idea. Although one of my friends once did — a see-through toaster so you could see whether the toast was done or not. So in the webinar, we delved into the ways that your financial personality, as you call it, can affect the ways you handle money.

So tell us a little bit about this book that you’ve written, Four Ways to Beat the Market. I love things that have such a compelling title (laughter) like that. Is it that simple? Well, greenwashing is, of course, an issue, because what I mean by sustainability could be completely different to what you mean by sustainability. You know, so I always say you need to again, it’s finding out when somebody says it’s a green fund, what does that mean? What is your version of green? What are the rules around that? Do they fit my rules? So I think asking for the definition of the green fund and the rules sitting behind it is very, very important. And that stops the greenwashing. The more people that ask, the less people get away with greenwashing. People know a lot more now. You know, they got a good nose for when they’re being — I was gonna use a word I’m probably not allowed to use — bullshitted.

I don’t know. So when I was 19 . . . no, earlier, 16, I went to business, left school at 16, didn’t do A-levels, went to business college, and my thesis at college was on climate change.

They’re the numbers that tell you whether or not you’re making any money. So your turnover, are you selling enough? OK. That’s the business. I’m selling enough to make it a business. Your gross profit says, actually at the, you know, I’m selling it for more than it costs me. And then your net profit says, OK, well, I’ve got all those overheads, you know, am I actually paying for the cost of running the business? So although I made money on the goods, am I making enough money to pay for all of the costs of the business? Yeah. Nobody’s talking about giving help to renters. But a related question, so you said you’re a freelancer. So there’s an awful lot of discrimination, frankly, in the financial system against freelancers, people who don’t have a regular wage. But there’s more and more people who are working as freelancers or in the gig economy as a way of dressing it up. Tell us your thoughts about that.

That’s very nice of you to describe me as a young person. I think that’s because I was when I first joined the FT in 2007, I’m not sure I still am at the age of 39, but thank you for saying so. So, yes. So I write about economics. I also write quite a lot about jobs, the world of work and how it is changing and how technology is beginning to change the way that we work and how much we’re going to work in the future. And I’m actually on book leave from the FT at the minute, which is six months of time away from work to try and write a book, which is really exciting. And I keep telling people it’s like being on maternity leave but without a baby to look after. It’s absolutely amazing. I love it.

The future of finance is clearly digital — but younger children cannot learn how to manage the dangers or opportunities if they don’t have access to digital tools. Well, what does? I always say to people, tell me what it is that you think costs more? So it’s not that they cost more, it’s that the upfront costs more. So actually, if you’re gonna keep something for longer and we change our habits, we’re a little bit disposable at the moment, we are gonna have to shift our habits to valuing things that we have forever. I love it. I’ve got jumpers with holes in at home and I can’t tell you the pleasure I get out of looking at the holes in the jumpers. I think: I’ve worn it out, that’s amazing.Absolutely. And I mean, it is one of the amazing things with these products, which you would assume was cyclical, you know, affected by the wider economic outlook, but they tend not to be so much, they tend to be luxuries which people persist with and really adore.