Why We Shouldn’t Be Teaching Young People About Investing (Yet!)

We hear it all the time: “Young people need financial education.” And we couldn’t agree more!

But too often the version of financial education being promoted, especially by the more polished, affluent voices online, leans heavily towards investing. Building a portfolio is treated like an essential. Teaching investing to young people is like teaching a baby to ride a bike before they can walk.

For most young people, especially those growing up in areas of deprivation which is a high percentage across Scotland, that kind of advice is completely out of touch with reality.

Let’s be honest, investing is a conversation for people who already have something left over at the end of the month. Teaching it as a priority risks turning financial education into financial fantasy.

Those who already have access to surplus cash might learn how to grow their wealth, while kids from low income households are left learning about risks they can’t afford to take. That’s not education. That's inequality dressed up as opportunity.

Trading Share Prices

Ask yourself this: what good is knowing how to buy shares if you don’t understand your payslip, how to avoid unplanned debts, or what discounts you can get on council tax in your first home?

For many families the issue isn’t where to put their money, it’s that they don’t have any spare to begin with.

We do think young people should learn about pensions - the biggest investment most of us will ever have. Understanding what gets deducted from your wages, how auto-enrollment works, and why it’s worth getting paying in from your very first job is all crucial knowledge. But that’s not the same as teaching kids how to trade crypto or pick stocks. One’s about long-term security. The other’s often about short-term speculation.

And that’s where things get murky. The current obsession with investing isn’t coming from nowhere. It’s part of the same culture that pushes get-rich-quick schemes on social media. A culture where teenagers are being sold financial freedom by influencers like Andrew Tate, who promise them wealth, status, and control if they just “hustle harder” and never settle for a 9–5. It’s toxic, unrealistic and frankly dangerous. It’s targeting the kids who are least likely to have a financial safety net if things go wrong.

At Your Pay Your Way, we believe financial education should be about security, not speculation. It should teach real world skills like how to budget, avoid debt, spot a scam, plan ahead and where to turn to for help should the worst happen. It should build confidence and reduce shame, not pile on pressure to become the next millionaire by 25.

If a young person wants to learn about investing later, great. But let’s not pretend it’s the most urgent priority when they might live in a house where the electric meter is always running out. Let’s focus on giving all young people a strong foundation, one where they understand their rights, their options, and how to stay safe, financially and emotionally.

Financial education should start with where people are, not where Instagram says they should be. And if we get that bit right, the rest will follow.