Money Matters

Is popular culture to blame for the state of household finances? It occurs to me that today’s indebted thirty-somethings had the misfortune to grow up in the 1980s to a soundtrack of such musically – and economically – dubious classics as ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits, ‘Gold’ by Spandau Ballet, and ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)’ by the Pet Shop Boys. They clearly switched off whenever Radio 1′s ‘Oooh’ Gary Davies introduced ‘Money’s Too Tight to Mention’ by Simply Red – but then didn’t we all?

So it’s perhaps little wonder that this generation’s children are now growing up in households with average short-term debt of £8,653, according to Scottish Widows. They’re having to live with it, too – Equifax reports that one third of borrowers are only paying off up to 25 per cent of these credit card debts each month, with nearly one in four making only the minimum repayment.

But the children may grow up to be more financially savvy than their parents – thanks to the music of Tinchy Stryder, the undisputed ‘Prince of Grime’. For those of you unfamiliar with the latest urban sounds, Tinchy recently reached number one, in what Gary used call the Hit Parade, with the self-confidently titled ‘Number One’, featuring N-Dubz. And now, he is giving personal finance lessons in schools.

On Thursday, the 23-year old will be back in the classroom at St Matthew Academy in Lewisham, highlighting the importance of money skills to young people – and backing the Government’s My Money programme.

As a role model, he arguably has better a CV – and hair cut – than those 80s chart-toppers. Tinchy, real name Kwasi Danquah, arrived in Tower Hamlets from Ghana at a young age and started making music with his group ‘Ruff Sqwad’, aged 13. He managed his money so successfully that he was able to self-finance his first album, and study for a degree in Digital Arts and Moving Imagery at University of East London. He recently signed a record deal with Island Records, and achieved three consecutive top 3 hits – but, realising the money’s in touring and merchandising, launched the ‘Star in The Hood’ clothing line with fellow artist Wiley. According to his website, they have just expanded into retail, “with the kind of profit margins that would impress Philip Green.”

Let’s hope he impresses the school kids sufficiently that they save up to buy one of his baseball caps, rather than putting it on their parents’ plastic.