Why we're so dumb when it comes to money

🔸 Plus: The 10 biggest individual taxpayers in the UK 🔸 Rent in London hit a new, horrible record 🔸 The government is considering creating 1% mortgages.

Today’s 2-minute guide to demystifying money

British people hate talking about money. We’re taught from a young age that it’s rude to ask about money, even among your loved ones. British people find money harder to talk about than their mental health. And we use some of the most difficult, complicated, unsexy words to talk about personal finance — pensions, ISAs, SIPPs, and so on.

The result is that Brits are some of the least financially savvy people on the planet.

Earlier this week, Stephen Welton — the boss of a £12 billion investment bank — appeared on Radio 4’s Today show and described just how ignorant we all are compared to folks in other countries. He said:

“If you go to Australia or Canada people will talk about their ‘supers’ [superannuation plans]. What am I invested in? And they actually know what they’re invested in. In the US they talk about their 401(k) plan. In the UK, nobody talks about their pensions and perhaps crucially nobody knows what their pension is invested in.”

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